Turing, Alan

"Nature isn't cruel, merely indifferent."

"The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim."

"A man provided with paper, pencil, and rubber, and subject to strict discipline, is in effect a universal computing machine."

"To think about the design of a machine for computing numbers is to think about the organization of mental labour."

"The human mind works fundamentally in this way - through symbolic manipulation and logical operations."

"Beauty in mathematics and logic is as real as in art or music."

"What we loosely call thinking is the process of working with symbols according to established rules."

"Granted that a machine can perform operations more swiftly than a human being, speed alone is not intelligence."

"The physical substrate of computation is irrelevant if the function is preserved."

"Ambition is not as itself evil. It is the driving force behind achievement."

"Every good mathematician is at least half a philosopher; every good philosopher is at least half a mathematician."

"One could imagine that the question 'can machines think' is something to which we will never know the answer."

"The world breaks everyone, but some grow strong in the broken places."

"Computing is not about numbers; it is about symbols and their manipulation."

"If you wish to make a computer that can learn, you must understand how children learn."

"The remarkable thing about the mind is that it can represent anything in the world, including itself."

"To build a thinking machine, we need to understand what thinking is."

"The future of computing is not about raw power, but about understanding."

"One can say that a certain object is beautiful because its complexity reflects deep order."

"The British tradition of pure mathematics sometimes blinds us to practical applications."

"Mechanical intelligence may rival human intelligence in specific domains."

"The capacity to learn continuously is what separates the living from the merely mechanical."

"We are machines, but machines of such complexity that we can simulate free will."

"Those who love practice without theory are like a navigator who steers without rudder or compass."

"The rules of pure mathematics require strict adherence to logic and consistency."

"Dare to be different, think differently, and your legacy will be different."

"The mind is the most remarkable product of evolution."

"Computers will continue to improve until they are indistinguishable from minds."

"A child learning mathematics is engaging in the same processes as a calculating machine."

"The symbolic representation of ideas is the true foundation of intelligence."