Another special day and another interactive Google Doodle is displayed on this Saturday, to mark the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing's birth. Google celebrates, on its homepage Google.com and also in Italy on Google.it, Alan Turing, a famous British computer scientist, pioneer of artificial intelligence and math wizard.
To honor Turing's memory, the Google team changes the logo with a virtual version of the Turing machine, which, in fact, helps explain how a CPU works with its binary code consisting of the numbers 1 and 0.
Alan Turing, who died at 41 years old convicted of homosexuality, can be considered as one of the founding fathers of every computer and, consequently, also of the internet and of this wonderful blog.
As early as 1936, as the official Google blog explains, Turing introduced terms such as "algorithm" and "computer".
The algorithms are, in simpler terms, the step-by-step instructions for carrying out a mathematical calculation and it is the basis of the programming since a software is a set of algorithms.
A computer, the Turing machine, was instead what was imagined as a device for executing algorithms.
Considering the importance that a computer has today in everyone's daily life, it is clear that Turing's intuition can be considered among the most important innovations of the twentieth century.
Today's Doodle, Saturday 23 June 2012 (can be reviewed and replayed from this page) is incredibly difficult to understand if you don't have a minimum of mathematical and electronic culture.
The aim of the game is to write the word "Google" in binary code in six sequences.
There are a series of 1s and 0s and arrows pointing left and right.
The sequences are:
01011 = G
00011 = o
00011 = o
01011 = g
01001 = l
10000 = e
If you are unable to understand the logic of the sequence and in what order to press the buttons, the best way is to follow this video which explains the step by step solution of the smartest Google Doodle ever.
For more fun and less demanding Google Doodle I remember that even today you can see the best Google Doodle logos including:
- Play the Moog synthesizer
- Play the guitar of Les Paul
- Compose and play melodies with Bach.
