Alan M. Turing

Alan was a very hard worker, but when he relaxed he did so thoroughly, running, walking or cultivating his garden. On his short visits to Guildford in the vacations he always put in a good deal of work, yet he found leisure for walks with me and long discussions. Despite the great mental disparity between us we never lacked topics of conversation. I have never ceased to wonder at this ability on his part to share his interests and to step outside those realms of profound thought in which he lived. He interspersed with work a good deal of light-hearted fun. A sample of this was the Treasure Hunt at Leicester, when some of the clues were of Alan's invention. Thus he prepared, for each competitor, a bottle containing red liquid, either malodorous (labeled “The Libation”) or drinkable (“The Potion”): when the bottle was emptied the next clue was revealed – written in red ink on the back of the label. As another clue he made up the word “perplication.” Over his copy of Les Faux Amis ou les Trahisons du Vocabulaire Anglais he put a convincing dust cover inscribed with the title, “Dictionary of Uncommon French Words.” He then inserted the word “perplication” with an explanation in French involving references to Maimonides and treasure hunters. This done, he prevailed on a bookseller to place it on one of his shelves. Alan was particularly pleased with this clue.