3 ms·

He 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 te

He 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 ago
Are 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 ago
  There 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 ago
    Is 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 ago
    Euler. 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 ago
    Genius 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 ago
  I 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.
  - adrianN 2y ago
    It’s the early days in a lot of fields, but they tend to be fiendishly difficult like molecular biology or neuroscience.
    - ricksunny 2y ago
      More than that, as professionals' career paths in fields develop, the organisations they work for specialize, becoming less amenable to the generalist. ('Why should we hire this mathematician who is also an expert in legal research? Their attention is probably divided, and meanwhile we have a 100% mathematician in the candidate pool fresh from an expensive dedicated PhD program with a growing family to feed.') I'm obviously using the archetype of Leibniz here as an example but pick your favorite polymath.
    - bee_rider 2y ago
      Are they fiendishly difficult or do we just need a von Neumann to come along and do what he did for quantum mechanics to them?
    - Salgat 2y ago
      Centuries ago, the limitation of most knowledge was the difficulty in discovery; once known, it was accessible to most scholars. Take Calculus, which is taught in every high school in America. The problem is, we're getting to a point where new fields are built on such extreme requirements, that even the known knowledge is extremely hard for talented university students to learn, let alone what is required to discover and advance that field. Until we are able to augment human intelligence, the days of the polymath advancing multiple fields are mostly over. I would also argue that the standards for peer reviewed whitepapers and obtaining PhDs has significantly dropped (due to the incentive structure to spam as many papers as possible), which is only hurting the advancement of knowledge.
- lachlan_gray 2y ago
  IMO they do exist, but the popular attitude that it's not possible anymore is the issue, not a lack of genius. If everyone has a built in assumption that it can't happen anymore, then we will naturally prune away social pathways that enable it.
topologie 2y ago
My 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.

strogonoff 2y ago

Are 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 ago
There 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 ago
  Is 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 ago
  Euler. 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 ago
  Genius 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 ago
I 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.
- adrianN 2y ago
  It’s the early days in a lot of fields, but they tend to be fiendishly difficult like molecular biology or neuroscience.
  - ricksunny 2y ago
    More than that, as professionals' career paths in fields develop, the organisations they work for specialize, becoming less amenable to the generalist. ('Why should we hire this mathematician who is also an expert in legal research? Their attention is probably divided, and meanwhile we have a 100% mathematician in the candidate pool fresh from an expensive dedicated PhD program with a growing family to feed.') I'm obviously using the archetype of Leibniz here as an example but pick your favorite polymath.
  - bee_rider 2y ago
    Are they fiendishly difficult or do we just need a von Neumann to come along and do what he did for quantum mechanics to them?
  - Salgat 2y ago
    Centuries ago, the limitation of most knowledge was the difficulty in discovery; once known, it was accessible to most scholars. Take Calculus, which is taught in every high school in America. The problem is, we're getting to a point where new fields are built on such extreme requirements, that even the known knowledge is extremely hard for talented university students to learn, let alone what is required to discover and advance that field. Until we are able to augment human intelligence, the days of the polymath advancing multiple fields are mostly over. I would also argue that the standards for peer reviewed whitepapers and obtaining PhDs has significantly dropped (due to the incentive structure to spam as many papers as possible), which is only hurting the advancement of knowledge.
lachlan_gray 2y ago
IMO they do exist, but the popular attitude that it's not possible anymore is the issue, not a lack of genius. If everyone has a built in assumption that it can't happen anymore, then we will naturally prune away social pathways that enable it.

topologie 2y ago

My 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.