Alan Turing, Critical Thinker
Father of Computer Science
Turing, a British mathematician and one of the
pioneers of modern-day computer science and
artificial intelligence. During the second world-war,
he was the leading participant of wartime codebreaking where he deciphered the infamous Nazi
enigma machine codes used for messages and
communication between Nazi intelligence. Breaking
the Enigma code enabled the allies to prevent many
devastating attacks by U-Boats and revealed the
locations of German positions before the Normandy
landings ( Biography.com Editors, 2020) (The
National Archives Shop, n.d.).
His achievements include inventing the digital
programmable computer, breaking the enigma codes despite it being seemingly impossible at the
time, and created the Turing test which became the basis of modern-day Artificial Intelligence.
Critical Thinking is defined by a persons’ ability to question, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and
make sound judgements (What Is Critical Thinking?, 2022). And his participation, as well as his
other notable achievements showcase his profound ability of critical thinking. He was known to
question established beliefs, he was able to analyze and interpret and make the correct
judgements to crack the enigma codes. On top of that, he was able to innovate with hypothetical
scenarios which led to the creation of the computer. From his achievements alone as proof, he is
evidently the epitome of a critical thinker.
References
Biography.com Editors (Ed.). (2020, July 22). Alan Turing. Biography.
https://www.biography.com/scientists/alan-turing
The National Archives Shop. (n.d.). Enigma: How breaking the code helped win World War II.
https://shop.nationalarchives.gov.uk/products/enigma
What is critical thinking? (2022, November 3). Student Academic Success.
https://www.monash.edu/student-academic-success/enhance-your-thinking/criticalthinking/what-is-critical-thinking