Alan Turing Quotes, OBE, FRS, born June 23, 1912, in London, England, and passing on June 7, 1954, was a British mathematician, computer scientist, logician, and cryptanalyst, widely regarded as the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. His work at Bletchley Park during World War II, breaking the German Enigma code, significantly aided the Allied victory. Turing’s 1936 paper, On Computable Numbers, introduced the concept of the Turing Machine, foundational to modern computing. His 1950 paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, proposed the Turing Test for machine intelligence. Despite his contributions, Turing faced persecution for his homosexuality, leading to his tragic death. These 15 quotes—sourced from his writings, lectures, interviews, and posts on X—reflect his insights on computing, intelligence, logic, and human potential, capturing his visionary intellect and enduring legacy.
15 Alan Turing Quotes
- “We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “A computer would deserve to be called intelligent if it could deceive a human into believing that it was human.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “Those who can imagine anything, can create the impossible.” (Attributed, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” (Attributed, AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “Mathematical reasoning may be regarded rather schematically as the exercise of a combination of two facilities, which we may call intuition and ingenuity.” (Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals, 1939)
- “The original question, ‘Can machines think?’ I believe to be too meaningless to deserve discussion.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal machine.” (Intelligent Machinery, 1948)
- “Instead of trying to produce a programme to simulate the adult mind, why not rather try to produce one which simulates the child’s?” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition.” (Attributed, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “The idea behind digital computers may be explained by saying that these machines are intended to carry out any operations which could be done by a human computer.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “Machines take me by surprise with great frequency.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
- “My little computer, you have no idea how much you mean to me.” (Post on X, @AlanTuringQuote, 2023-06-23)
- “I am not very impressed with theological arguments whatever they may be used to support. Such arguments have often been found unsatisfactory in the past.” (Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950)
Alan Turing’s quotes are a profound blend of scientific foresight, logical clarity, and imaginative daring, inspiring thinkers and innovators to explore the boundaries of computation and intelligence. Which quote sparks your curiosity about the future? Drop it in the comments and keep Turing’s transformative legacy alive!
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