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Recursion

(56,582 posts)
Tue Jul 16, 2019, 02:57 PM Jul 2019

Alan Turing will be the face of the new 50 pound note

Alan Turing was a genius. He developed the calculus of the computer, a machine which makes deterministic binary decisions: 1 or 0, true or false, yes or no. His work was essential to the Allied victory in the 2nd world war, as well as in all of computer science since then.

When the UK government discovered he was homosexual, they offered him a binary choice: chemical castration, or jail.

He chose suicide.

This honor is long overdue.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48962557

He is celebrated for his code-cracking work that proved vital to the Allies in World War Two.

The £50 note will be the last of the Bank of England collection to switch from paper to polymer when it enters circulation by the end of 2021.

The note was once described as the "currency of corrupt elites" and is the least used in daily transactions.

However, there are still 344 million £50 notes in circulation, with a combined value of £17.2bn, according to the Bank of England's banknote circulation figures.
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