雙語暢銷書《艾倫圖靈傳》第1章16:雛菊

Human beings were 'more intelligent' than the other animals, but were not accorded a mention of 'soul'. The process of cellular division and differentiation was something no one had yet begun to understand – but there was no suggestion that it required the interference of angels. So if Alan was indeed 'watching the daisies grow', he could have been thinking that while it looked as though the daisy knew what to do, it really depended upon a system of cells working like a machine. And what about himself? How did he know what to do? There was plenty to dream about while the hockey ball whizzed past.

現在還搞不清楚細胞分裂或變異的具體過程，但是看起來，這確實不像和天使有什麼關係。艾倫經常觀察雛菊的生長，他也許會想到：雛菊似乎知道自己該做什麼，它確實是基於一系列細胞，像機器一樣地工作着。那麼我自己呢？我的身體是怎麼知道自己該做什麼的？當冰球嗖嗖地從他眼前飛過時，他思考了許多許多問題。

Besides watching the daisies, Alan liked inventing things. On 11 February 1923 he wrote:9

除了觀察雛菊之外，艾倫還喜歡搞些小發明。1923年2月11日，他寫信說注：

Dear Mother and Daddy,

親愛的爸爸媽媽：

I have got a lovely cinema kind of thing Micheal* sills gave it to me and you can draw new films for it and I am making a copy of it for you for an easter present I am sending it in another envelope if you want any more films for it write for them there are 16 pictures in each but I worked out that I could draw 'The boy stood at the tea table' you know the Rhyme made up from casabianca I was 2nd this week again. Matron sends her love GB said that as I wrote so thick I was to get some new nibs from T. Wells and I am writing with them now there is a lecture tomorrow Wainwright was next to bottom this week this is my patent ink

我得到了一臺可愛的相機是麥克爾希爾斯送我的可以換膠捲的如果你們想看看我複製了一份給你們放在另一個信封裏裏面有16張照片我還可以做出你們知道的押韻短詩站在茶桌旁的男孩這周我又考了第二名邁頓發來問候GB說我寫得太粗了應該向威爾斯要一些新的鋼筆尖我現在用的就是新的筆尖明天有場講座這是我自己發明的墨水

There was nothing about science, inventions, or the modern world in the Common Entrance examination – the public school admission test, which was the raison d'être of schools like Hazelhurst. Casabianca was nearer the mark. In the American Natural Wonders everything had to have a reason. But the British system was building different 'thinking spots' – the virtue of Casabianca, the boy on the burning deck, was that he carried out his instructions literally, losing his life in the process.

像海茲赫斯特這樣的學校，存在的意義是爲了普通入學考試，然而在這考試中，卻沒有什麼關於科學、發明或現代世界的內容。《自然奇蹟》中說，每件事情都是有原因的，但是這些學校，只是像機器一樣運轉着，似乎是沒有原因的。這就是在英國體制下建立起來的思維區──即使在燃燒的甲板上，人們也是一樣按部就班地工作，直至燒死。