We wrapped up week 2 with a trip to Bletchley Park: the location of all of Britain’s code breaking efforts from the second world war. During the war, this place had thousands of workers and mathematicians working hard alongside some of the most famous machines. Mathematicians included the famous Alan Turing and Bill Tutte, who were responsible for the algorithms used to “break” the enigma and the Lorenz cipher used by the axis powers during the war. It was fun to pass by all of the famous machines that used Turing and Tutte’s work, including the Bombe as well as the world’s first programmable computer, Colossus.
While seeing all of these inventions were cool, one of the things at Bletchley park that stood out the most to me was the lives of the ordinary workers. They often worked 7 days a week, but still found ways to have fun. The mansion had brochures for various clubs and performing arts groups that the workers took part in.
I guess no matter what you are doing, it is important to have relaxation time. For me, that has meant a lot of sitting in coffee shops with friends or exploring Cambridge’s downtown area. Earlier this week, I found a very quaint tea shop that sold “tea for two” which included sandwiches, a variety of pastries, and of course tea. There is still a lot to explore though, and I can’t wait to see what I find.
