Turing family back maths campaign on enigma code anniversary

PRESS RELEASE: The family of Alan Turing have joined with mathematicians from across the UK to back a new campaign to protect and promote mathematics in the UK. The campaign, Protect Pure Maths, says pure maths needs greater recognition for its contribution to the economy and the UK’s standing in the world.

One of its first asks is for Parliament’s Science and Technology Committees to change their names to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Committees. A letter sent to the committee chairs The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP and Lord Patel and parliamentary clerks says the change will recognise the importance of mathematics to the economy and the country. [1]

The launch of the campaign comes just weeks after Alan Turing was honoured by featuring on the new £50 note. And it is taking place to coincide with the 80th Anniversary of his achievement in breaking the Enigma code entirely. On 9 July 1941 British codebreakers using methods developed by Turing deciphered the Enigma code that the Nazis were using on the Eastern front meaning almost all enemy messages could be read for the first time.

Maths professor Marcus du Sautoy is Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University and author of bestseller The Music of the Primes. His new book ‘Thinking Better; the art of the shortcut’ is due to be published next month. He said, “We will lose so many applications for real world solutions if we limit what students are able to study when they study mathematics.

“The example of Turing’s work on Engima illustrates perfectly why we need blue skies mathematics. Before the war he was working on something called the Riemann hypothesis, a very knotty mathematical question involving prime numbers and not seen as having obvious real world applications. But that work would prove to be the foundations for all the things he did at Bletchley Park where the Engima code was cracked.

“Maths that doesn’t have an obvious application can suddenly be key to pressing issues facing society or humanity. It’s never clear where breakthroughs will come from.”

The campaign was prompted by concerns that some universities are shifting away from pure maths. Nearly 9000 people have signed an online petition after Leicester University announced it was closing its pure maths department all together. [2]

The number of students studying maths at A-Level rose 10 per cent between 2015 - 2020. Maths is now the most popular A-Level subject, taken by over 90,000 students. [3]

Marcus du Sautoy, added: “A-level maths has been increasing in popularity and it’s easy to see why as it underpins so many exciting new technologies and opens the doors to incredible careers. But at university, maths, and specifically pure maths, is consolidated within a few large centres. There needs to be a more even distribution of investment in mathematical sciences in higher education institutions across the UK to enable all students who wish to train as mathematicians access to the best research and teaching opportunities. Any closure of a pure maths departments is short sighted. Instead we must show more universities the value of pure maths would add to their institution and to the country.”

Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics, as opposed to applied maths which focuses on practical applications of maths such as statistics or probability. However, pure maths often informs real world breakthroughs.

Mathematician Alan Turing was focusing on pure maths concepts including the Riemann hypothesis in the 1930s. Years later this work laid the foundations for his work at Bletchley Park and the ‘Bombe’ he helped create to crack Enigma.

Rachel Barnes, the great niece of Alan Turing, said: “Without Alan Turing’s abilities during World War Two, our world would be very different today. My family are all so proud of the legacy of Alan Turing and he is now even on the £50 note.

 “To honour that legacy we must keep funding and supporting pure maths – the subject at which my great uncle excelled and which was the bedrock his achievements was built on. “I believe it is vital that young people who show a talent for pure maths should be able to study it at its highest level at university. This will keep our country leading in the area of mathematics and also science.

“With the 80th anniversary of the final step in cracking the Engima code falling this Friday the launch of the Protect Pure Maths campaign is perfectly timed.”

Today it is estimated that maths adds over £200bn in value to the UK economy - almost 10% of the UK’s GDP [4]. Pure maths underpins today’s most exciting and urgent technological developments, including artificial intelligence, driverless cars and superfast broadband. Maths has been key to modelling the Covid-19 outbreak and the rollout of vaccinations. The intelligence and security organisation GCHQ is the biggest employer of pure mathematicians in the country.

LMS President, Professor Jon Keating, said: “The London Mathematical Society, the UK’s oldest learned society dedicated to mathematics, is concerned that this is a key moment for research and teaching in pure mathematics in the country. While mathematics continues to grow in popularity at A-Level, there has not been a corresponding growth in pure mathematics capacity at many of our higher education institutions.

“The examples of Ada Lovelace, Sir Roger Penrose, and Alan Turing show that there is no clear delineation between pure maths and its practical, and often profoundly important, applications. That is why we have contributed to establishing Protect Pure Maths, to promote pure mathematics and to encourage universities to invest in the subject, so that the UK continues to benefit from its rich heritage and to produce world-leading mathematicians.”

Johnny Ball is the veteran presenter of iconic maths programmes for children Think of a Number and Johnny Ball Reveals All. The 83-year-old is touring the UK from September with his new show Wonders Beyond Numbers. He endorsed the Protect Pure Maths campaign. He said, “There is an undiscovered mathematician in so many young people, and to not help them along the way, by failing to reveal to them the power of mathematics, would be deeply tragic.”

The Protect Pure Maths campaign is working to promote pure maths by increasing understanding of the topic and its value to society, protect pure maths departments from further significant cuts and prevent any more maths departments closing.

NOTES TO EDITORS

 1 We can supply a copy of the letter on request
2 https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/mathematics-is-not-redundant
3 https://schoolsweek.co.uk/a-level-results-2020-8-key-trends-in-englands-data/
4 Report EconomicBenefits.pdf (lms.ac.uk)

For more information contact: puremaths@connectpa.co.uk