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bakerman
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11-12-2020, 01:50 AM
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The imitation game ****enigma

I just watched a cracking good film, The Imitation Game.

BLETCHLEY PARK … THE WAR YEARS
The story of Alan Turing and the breaking of the German's most secret code. It was said, early in the war that, Enigma had a possible 159 million, million, million, million possible combinations. The British calculated that if 10 men, working around the clock, and each tried one possible combination every minute, it would take 20 million years to come up with the correct combination.

Alan Turing, a genius of the 1st caliber, figured that since it was impossible for human brains to solve the Enigma code, only a "thinking" machine could do the job. He then set out to create such a machine.

Truly, a great thinking persons film.
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11-12-2020, 02:50 AM
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Re: The imitation game ****enigma

I did some of my training with the GPO at Bletchey Park in those very same buildings. At the time it was still classified as secret until the 1970s (I think) so I had no idea of the history of the place.

The School Secretary at my Grammar School was a code breaker at Bletchley Park during the war, again no idea about this until it was declassified many years later.
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11-12-2020, 11:17 AM
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Re: The imitation game ****enigma

Originally Posted by bakerman ->
I just watched a cracking good film, The Imitation Game.

BLETCHLEY PARK … THE WAR YEARS
The story of Alan Turing and the breaking of the German's most secret code. It was said, early in the war that, Enigma had a possible 159 million, million, million, million possible combinations. The British calculated that if 10 men, working around the clock, and each tried one possible combination every minute, it would take 20 million years to come up with the correct combination.

Alan Turing, a genius of the 1st caliber, figured that since it was impossible for human brains to solve the Enigma code, only a "thinking" machine could do the job. He then set out to create such a machine.

Truly, a great thinking persons film.
What is missing from films about Bletchley Park during the war years is the work of GPO engineer Tommy Flowers who constructed, from his own pocket, the world's first electronic computer - Colossus 1, to decode Germany's Lorenz cipher machine. While the machine designed and built by Turing to decipher the Enigma machines was by and large electro-mechanical, the Flower's computer was all done using thermionic valves.

Flowers never got the recognition he deserved because his computer was classed as top secret. Just imagine the lead in computing Britain would have had if his computer system had been made public.

https://www.historylearningsite.co.u...tommy-flowers/
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11-12-2020, 12:07 PM
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Re: The imitation game ****enigma

What a brilliant post Judd, and attempting to give Tommy some praise and recognition which he richly deserves.
I had heard of Tommy previously but was unaware of exactly what he did. One of the unsung heroes of our time....
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11-12-2020, 04:38 PM
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Re: The imitation game ****enigma

Originally Posted by Judd ->
What is missing from films about Bletchley Park during the war years is the work of GPO engineer Tommy Flowers who constructed, from his own pocket, the world's first electronic computer - Colossus 1, to decode Germany's Lorenz cipher machine. While the machine designed and built by Turing to decipher the Enigma machines was by and large electro-mechanical, the Flower's computer was all done using thermionic valves.

Flowers never got the recognition he deserved because his computer was classed as top secret. Just imagine the lead in computing Britain would have had if his computer system had been made public.

https://www.historylearningsite.co.u...tommy-flowers/
There was a TV series about this a few months ago (can't remember the title or the channel now though). We never stood a chance of leading the "computer race" because "the powers that be" gave the designs away to the Yanks in exchange for something or other during the latter stages of WWII.
 

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