If you are interested in or have done some philosophy then you'll find this article fascinating and informative. It covers aspects of the strained relationship between Bertrand Russell and Norbert Wiener that I can't ever remember reading about in other short biographies of the pre-WWI Cambridge philosophers and mathematicians. Similarly, the somewhat awkward and prickly relationship been Russell and Wittgenstein is mentioned.<p>The article conveys a sense of the intellectual milieu in and around Cambridge in 1913. That must have been a remarkable time to have been at Cambridge and majored in philosophy and or mathematics with the likes of Russell, Wiener, Wittgenstein, G.E. Moore, G.H. Hardy J.E. Littlewood, A.N. Whitehead all there at the same time—even Srinivasa Ramanujan was there in 1913!<p>I'd have loved to have been around this intellectual tour de force when I was studying those subjects. Ah, well, I'll just have to be content with the fact that a number of my textbooks were written by four of them not to mention other notables who they'd influenced.
Norbert Weiner is a standout of modern computing/mathematics because he took a principled stand on the consequences of his research, and decided to move fields because he didn't want his work to directly relate to military applications.<p>There are very few people of his standing in science at that time, and I believe since, with the fortitude to resist temptation to take the high paying gig despite the moral implications. Joseph Rotblat comes to mind.
I found this article another gem from the numerous gems concerning Russell. I feel I must point out, as a fully paid up 'fan' of Russell's, and because people here have mentioned 'principles', he misstepped on race, perhaps (kindly) an indication of the sheer engrained blanket racism still prevalent in the world throughout the 20th century.<p>For those evermore curious...<p><a href="https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/interview-bertrand-russell-and-phyllis-evans-part-1" rel="nofollow">https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/interview-bertrand-rus...</a>
Unrelated but this is Norbert’s account of meeting Albert Einstein:
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150426074612/https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/wiener-letter/" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20150426074612/https://libraries....</a>
So it's about what Russell, Wiener and Wittgenstein though of each other. Hard to get excited by the details of their personal relationships when the subject that brought them together is fascinating, but almost ignored.<p>Would have been interested in the specific insights that affected the work of each other (beyond Logicism and Platonic Realism).
Great article.<p>Interesting that Wiener's genius (and his suicidal depression) may have been partly result of his fathers educational experiment.