No Museum Status For UK Home of Enigma Machine 101
hardsix writes "Despite the numerous films, books and plays, celebrating the brilliant achievements of the code-breakers at Bletchley Park, the UK government is still dragging its feet over providing proper support for the site. There has just been a debate in the House of Lords over whether the site should be given similar status to the UK's main WWII museum — the Imperial War Museum. But the government has brushed off the request, claiming that the site has received enough funding recently.
However, as was shown by a visit to the site by UK actor, and Twitter-lover Stephen Fry, although devices such as Enigma have been restored many of the huts where the code-breaking work went on are in a bad state and more investment is needed."
So what? (Score:3, Insightful)
At one time, this thing was the most critical machine in the entire world. Should that alone be cause to save it?
In this world of plastic Tonka trucks and biodegradable Mercedes Benzii, how much extra room do we have for something that is no longer useful? Clearly our priorities aren't on preserving the past. Nor are our priorities to create anything of lasting value. Everything must be created for today to be discarded tomorrow.
Should it be any surprise that an old computing device should be disregarded? This is how we think nowadays. It's only going to be a problem if our culture ever decides that lasting meaningfulness is something we want to preserve. Otherwise, the old can go to rust in peace.
Re:Inexplicable (Score:4, Insightful)
Look how long it took them to do the right thing in respect of the Gurkhas. As well as the continuing foot dragging in respect of MPs' "expenses". They still do not appear to understand why the public is so offended by their actions.
Re:So what? (Score:3, Insightful)
At one time, this thing was the most critical machine in the entire world. Should that alone be cause to save it?
Economic forces are going to decide it's fate, if the government doesn't spend enough money, if the property value is high enough, blah blah blah. Personally I don't think that's the best way to decide what stays and what goes.
What would replace it? If it's something worthwhile or absolutely necessary, then sure. If it's going to be a fucking McDonald's, then it shouldn't, there are enough of those.
If no one wants to donate money to it and it completely crumbles, then sure, build something there. But there are obviously people who want it to stay, and I think something like this will be of more long-term benefit than a strip mall. Tangible history is to me always better than retail.
It may be kind of tinfoil-hat of me ... (Score:5, Insightful)
... but I can't help but thinking that the current British government still doesn't want to call too much attention to what their predecessors did to poor Alan Turing.
It comes as no suprise. (Score:5, Insightful)
I seriously think the government has a problem with Bletchley park in that they were responsible for it's greatest figurehead, Alan Turing's death.
Turing was one of the main founders of modern computing, one of the mathematical greats and he used his abilities to help end the war early by preventing the German war machine keeping it's military secrets, undoubtedly many lives are owed to him.
Of course, for those that don't know his story, in the 50s he was convicted of being gay, something that was illegal at the time and was forced into hormone therapy to try and "cure" him of his homosexuality. This effected the one thing he had and held dearly - his mind, and so he committed suicide (or possibly was assassinated, but that seems unlikely) in 1954.
To this day I believe the British governments through the ages have failed to accept that their parties were responsible for the death of one of the greatest Britons of all time, and I believe the shunning of Bletchley park is a continuation of their refusal to accept that they are at fault for both Turing's death and the lack of realisation of how important Turing and Bletchley was to the British war effort.
At school we're taught about some of the greatest British engineers of all time such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel, we're taught about our kings and queens, we're taught about our greatest military leaders, our greatest industrialists, but there is not a single mention of our computer scientists. If you killed loads of people in the name of Britain you'll be fine, if you helped push colonialism across the world you'll go down in history, but if you invent or help to invent the computer? arguably the single most important device of the last 50 years? Good luck your story every being well known.
The fact is, for over 60 years the successive British governments have failed computer science in the UK despite it being one of the most important countries in the world when it comes to it's developmental history from Turing to Berners-Lee to Ive (the guy who designed the iMac and iPod). The decision mentioned in the article is just further evidence of how backwards and ignorant the British government is - it cares about only a few minor sectors such as banking, and look how well that has done us - whilst the likes of Google were announcing record profits, banks had effectively failed. I believe this ignorance and a refusal to foster and support the field has cost the UK an IT industry that could truly have rivalled that of silicon valley.
Re:So what? (Score:4, Insightful)
The same argument could be applied to anything that gets preserved beyond the time it would naturally decay, and yet governments do spend a great deal of money preserving historically significant sites and artifacts. Sometimes this is just because it makes economic sense -- I'd be willing to guess that Egypt, for instance, derives a significant portion of its GDP from archaeological tourism -- but there are also intangibles at stake, matters of national identity and collective memory. Given the number of museums scattered around the UK, it's clear that the British government understands this in many cases; the question is why they don't get it in this particular one.
RTFS (Score:4, Insightful)
The machines have been restored, it's the huts where they worked that are falling down. I appreciate the signifigance of the code-breakers efforts but having travelled the length and breadth of the UK I realise you cannot go 10 feet without tripping over something with historical significance. The artifacts could be housed in an existing museam but if they want to save the huts they need to make them usefull, perhaps renovate and house a modern sigint team? From what I saw, the military in the UK often share castles/forts with the historically inquisitive.
Re:It comes as no suprise. (Score:5, Insightful)
I have no mod points today, so I say "Well said!"
Spot on. I'm about as far from being a gay-rights activist as it's possible to be, but the way Alan Turing was treated and, in effect, hounded to his suicide, is something of which we should be deeply ashamed.
The man was brilliant, patriotic and saved countless lives. Yet because he fancied men he ended up dead. Apart from the personal tragedy for him and his loved ones, the world lost a man who still had years of potentially great work head of him. One can only be thankful that, in many countries today, this would not be repeated.
Re:Museums have a place, in history (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd also like to apologise on behalf of my government for driving Turing to suicide. We have much to be ashamed of.
Re:Investment? (Score:5, Insightful)
You haven't kept up with the story elsewhere.
Basically, Bletchley Park wants to be a museum. This is a significant attraction and would make it a lot of money. The House of Lords transcripts show that *everybody* recognises this. The trouble is, until it gets there (which may be several years), it can't afford to fund itself without what basically amounts to charity from third-parties.
Once it's an "official" museum, and it has spent the money it needs on re-building the falling down parts, it can attract thousands of visitors a year, and keep itself ticking over. Until then, they are just throwing money away on basic maintenance.
It *should* be a museum, or at the very least a permanently-funded attraction. It's probably one of the most humanitarian British achievements in centuries. They crunched numbers, invented great mathematics and the entire field of Computer Science, saved lives and ended wars by the application of skill and knowledge. What better inspiration can there be to a modern generation? Nobody was assassinated, no countries were trampled over, no indiginous peoples were wiped out by the work done there (which is already better than 99% of English history).
A post office engineer, a few mathematicians, a whole new invention, application of sheer brain power, whole new areas of science and mathematics discovered, a handful of people to flick switches and they save millions of lives and bring a war to an end without hurting *anyone*. For God's sake, what more do you need to stick the entire place into a big glass box and preserve it for a thousand years?
Re:So what? (Score:3, Insightful)
Given the number of museums scattered around the UK, it's clear that the British government understands this in many cases; the question is why they don't get it in this particular one.
Because it's a computer, so of course it doesn't matter. Just like anything else the nerds bang on about like open standards and competition, copyright and patent reform, etc etc. We're just noise to them. I mean what do nerds know?
Mark Thomas (Score:2, Insightful)
http://www.markthomasinfo.com/ [markthomasinfo.com]
I have to admit I find him amusing, even if I don't agree with all his politics...
Re:Inexplicable (Score:5, Insightful)
Basically, why should the MPs be subject to less rigorous rules than anyone else?
Re:Museums have a place, in history (Score:4, Insightful)
Bletchley houses more than just the Enigma though, it's home to the UK's national computing museum, the issue in the article is that it's not being put on par with the imperial war museum.
The argument then is more that the government isn't giving computing history and education the attention it deserves.
Re:Museums have a place, in history (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd also like to apologise on behalf of my government for driving Turing to suicide. We have much to be ashamed of.
There's nothing trollish about this comment. It is broadly agreed that Turing's suicide was significantly motivated by the effects of hormone therapy he was given to "cure" his homosexuality after he was convicted of the crime of being a homosexual.
That this could happen to one of the great minds who undoubtedly helped Britain survive the war should be a cautionary reminder to anyone anywhere who thinks that giving governments or corporations or churches the power over harmless human behaviour is a good thing.
Re:Inexplicable (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, and I fiddled expenses to claim a few hundred quid from a multi-billion pound corporation, but they still fired me and I was still prosecuted for fraud. How my boss and the police can get so worked up at the loss of such a comparatively small amount of money is beyond me!