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Its odd...as someone interested but not fully into the sciences I see his name pop up everywhere.
by tonetegeatinst 2y ago
Its odd...as someone interested but not fully into the sciences I see his name pop up everywhere.
- otteromkram 2y ago[flagged]
- farias0 2y agoI've seen many people arguing he's the most intelligent person that ever lived
- bee_rider 2y agoHe was really brilliant, made contributions all over the place in the math/physics/tech field, and had a sort of wild and quirky personality that people love telling stories about. A funny quote about him from a Edward “a guy with multiple equations named after him” Teller: > Edward Teller observed "von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my 3-year-old son, and the two of them would talk as equals, and I sometimes wondered if he used the same principle when he talked to the rest of us."
- strogonoff 2y agoAre there many von-Neumann-like multidisciplinaries nowadays? It feels like unless one is razor sharp fully into one field one is not to be treated seriously by those who made careers in it (and who have the last word on it).
- i_am_proteus 2y agoThere have been a very small number of thinkers as publicly accomplished as von Neumann ever. One other who comes to mind is Carl F. Gauss.
- strogonoff 2y agoIs it fair to say that the number of publicly accomplished multidisciplinaries alive at a particular moment is not rising as it may be expected, proportionally to the total number of suitably educated people?
- djd3 2y agoEuler. JVM was one of the smartest ever, but Euler was there centuries before and shows up in so many places. If I had a Time Machine I'd love to get those two together for a stiff drink and a banter.
- passion__desire 2y agoGenius Edward Teller Describes 1950s Genius John Von Neumann https://youtu.be/Oh31I1F2vds?t=189 https://youtu.be/Oh31I1F2vds?t=189 Describes Von Neumann's final days struggle when he couldn't think. Thinking, an activity which he loved the most.
- bee_rider 2y agoI think there are none. The world has gotten too complicated for that. It was early days in quantum physics, information theory, and computer science. I don’t think it is early days in anything that consequential anymore.
- topologie 2y agoMy favorite Von Neumann anecdote/quote is this one: John Von Neumann once said to Felix Smith: "Young man, in mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them." This was a response to Smith's fear about the method of characteristics. It took me a while to fully grasp what he meant, but after diving into Mathematics and Physics for a while, I now hold it as one of the capital T truths of learning.
- rramadass 2y agoAn Introduction here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPMjVcLiNKc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPMjVcLiNKc
- complaintdept 2y agoEven mortals such as ourselves can apply some of Von Neumann's ideas in our everyday lives: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_coin#Fair_results_from_a_biased_coin https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_coin#Fair_results_from_...