The maths hero on the new £50
Who is on the £50 note right now?
We heard this week that the new polymer note will feature the maths genius Alan Turning but before we get too excited about that, who is he replacing?
I haven't seen a £50 note for so long I'd forgotten we had them.
All I remember is that whenever I saw one I presumed it was a forgery.
Monetary notes are like certain body parts, when you see really big ones you think, "They must be fake."
As someone who actually liked maths at school I am happy that he was picked.
My favourite fact about him is that his name is Alan Mathison Turing - Maths was almost literally his middle name.
I know that most people don't like maths but I hope Alan might change that. Remember, he was a war hero.
His work on the cracking the code of the Enigma machine meant the Second World War was years shorter than it would have been. His maths saved lives.
He is also known as the father of modern computing.
Every time you use a self-scan till it is thanks to him.
If it wasn't for Alan you wouldn't spend all day on Facebook or have smart-speakers in your house listening to everything you do. You know what, I'm going to stop listing things, it's making me go off him.
In many ways he is the perfect person to be on the £50 note as it might be the last one we even need.
Before long the system of coins and notes will be replaced and we will use contactless payments instead.
And who can we blame for computers replacing the notes on which heroes like entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and the engineer James Watt are honoured?
The guy on the new £50.
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