Codebreaker - 4 Stars

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Codebreaker is another of many recent documentaries about Alan Turing. It covers the many noteworth points of his fascinating life that we've all seen in the previous productions of late, and a bit more. One new aspect of his studies brought to light and covered in some detail by this presentation is Turing's work in the area of biomorphology. Turing was interested in why the particular number of petals on a given flower often corresponded to Fibonacci numbers, and how individual cells in an organism "know" what kind of cells to become in a fully formed organism.

"Morphogenesis," of particular interest to Turing, describes how shapes and patterns emerge in living organisms as they develop. Turing was the first to try to develop a mathematical explanation for how stripes and spotted patterns form in nature. His pioneering work in the 1950's showed that chemical processes, following simple mathematical rules, could spontaneously create striped and spotted patterns such as those we observe in nature. Turing's scientific paper, "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis," described the process by which spots on cows are formed. 

I found the scenes in which the actor portraying Turing speaks with his psychiatrist about his life and his feelings to be a bit contrived, but not a major distraction. Those scenes still managed to convey something of the character of the man that may have been difficult to present in any other way. Overall production was extremely informative and entertaining. I give it 4 stars out of 5, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone with even a cursory interest in the life of Alan Turing.

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Documentaries Featuring Morse Code

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I have recently begun reacquainting myself with my old amateur radio hobby. While doing some online research over the last few days, I've come across a few interesting videos that feature the history of Morse Code. The links are posted below. I will continue to add new links to this post as I discover more videos that I find interesting and informative.

The Morse Code

BBC: Code Breakers -- Bletchley Park's Lost Heroes

An Ode to Morse Code

 Jean Shepherd - Code School

The Man Behind Morse Code 

Joe Myers, World War II Vet - Pacific Theater: Cryptographer

Military Affiliate Radio System : A Visit To MARS - 1970 Film

Decoding Japanese Morse Code - Lecture

1939 Film: New Zealand Shortwave Communications; Morse code (CW)

The History of Morse Code 

The Birth of Telecommunications

A Turning Point in History

 

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"Secrets of the Viking Sword" Synopsis.

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I came across an interesting documentary yesterday:

Secrets of the Viking Sword

If you are at all interested in ancient technology, anthropology, Vikings, or ancient trade routes through the Far / Middle East, then I recommend this program.

Spoiler Alert!!!

The Ulfberht was a type of Viking sword that used technology 1000 years ahead of its time. Only a relative few have been found, all marked with the word "Ulfberht." This steel had comparatively few impurities and had a much higher carbon content than its contemporaries. The swords were often given ancestors' names, incorporating their power. Burnt bones from ancestors or powerful animals such as bears may have been used to add the very specific amount of necessary carbon and a mystical, magical power to these exceptionally strong and flexible blades. This type is steel is thought to have originated in Central Asia, known as "Damascus Steel" and later "Crucible Steel." As an interesting side-note, thousands of artifacts from the Far East, including a Buddha from India, and an exquisite ring with the word "Allah" engraved in it, have been found in Viking graves. Islamic coins were commonly traded during that era in Scandinavia. It is probable that the special steel originated in Iran, along the Volga trade route. The Vikings didn't know how to make this steel, and the swords disappeared from history once the Volga Trade Route ceased operation.

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