--- description: You don't need a Turing Machine to understand it title: TIME Explains How Computers Work, Alan Turing's On Computable Numbers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1504164d69487343/69884d0da988ca67c36b23d5/1101780220_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Technology](/tag/technology/) ## Technology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How TIME Explained the Way Computers Work  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. May 28, 2015 4:30 PM CUT  The Feb. 20, 1978, cover of TIME The Feb. 20, 1978, cover of TIME  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. May 28, 2015 4:30 PM CUT When Alan Turing submitted his paper [_On Computable Numbers_ ](http://plms.oxfordjournals.org/content/s2-42/1/230.full.pdf+html "undefined")to the _Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society_ on this day, May 28, in 1936, he could not have guessed that it would lead not only to the computer as we know it today, but also nearly all of the gadgets and devices that are so crucial a part of our lives. The paper demonstrated that a so-called Turing Machine could perform solvable computations, a proof that is commonly [seen](http://www.nww2m.com/2013/05/scitech-tuesday-alan-turing-submits-on-computable-numbers-for-publication/ "undefined") as one of the original stepping stones toward the existence of modern computers. Though Turing, who [died in 1954](http://time.com/3599607/imitation-game-accuracy-benedict-cumberbatch-alan-turing/ "undefined"), never got to see a smartphone, his paper remains the touchstone behind the technology. For a 1978 cover story about “The Computer Society,” TIME broke down how computers work in easy(-ish)-to understand terms, thus explaining why Turing mattered so much: --- > “” --- **_Read the full story from 1978, here in the TIME Vault:_** [The Numbers Game](http://time.com/vault/issue/1978-02-20/page/58/ "undefined") TIME Explains How Computers Work, Alan Turing's On Computable Numbers ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3883153/alan-turing-computable-numbers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3883153/alan-turing-computable-numbers/"},"headline":"How TIME Explained the Way Computers Work","datePublished":"2015-05-28T16:30:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:05:21.650Z","description":"You don't need a Turing Machine to understand it","url":"https://time.com/3883153/alan-turing-computable-numbers/","keywords":["Technology","Tech","Computers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1504164d69487343/69884d0da988ca67c36b23d5/1101780220_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1504164d69487343/69884d0da988ca67c36b23d5/1101780220_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Computer Society","caption":"The Computer Society","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3883153/alan-turing-computable-numbers/","name":"How TIME Explained the Way Computers Work"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: The Deep Web","description":"The FBI takedown of the online market Silk Road reveals the challenges of regulating the Deep Web. 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