> “There was a seminar for advanced students in Zürich that I was teaching and von Neumann was in the class. I came to a certain theorem, and I said it is not proved and it may be difficult. von Neumann didn’t say anything but after five minutes he raised his hand. When I called on him he went to the blackboard and proceeded to write down the proof. After that I was afraid of von Neumann” — George Pólya<p>If you put that scene in a film, people would call it unbelievable.
How much of our global technological progress can be attributed to a handful of geniuses who happened to be at the right time and place?<p>How much more backward would the world be if the likes of Newton and Von Neumann hadn't existed?<p>I unironically believe that the government should dig up his body, retrieve DNA samples, and clone him. Populate federal labs and agencies with Von Neumann clones. Sell a few to FAAMNG too for good measure. Let uber geniuses run the nation's courts, monetary policy, tax laws, environmental protection programs, and defense planning and acquisition.
> In fact, von Neumann claimed to do some of his best work in noisy, chaotic environments such as in the living room of his house with the television blaring.<p>I often think of this when people claim it is impossible to conceive of any advanced thought in an open office or noisy environment. In fact, it is just a personal preference and one environment isn't necessarily any better than another.
In my opinion one of the great contributions of Von Neumann was the fact his "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC" report was spread so quickly in academic circles. When Eckert and Mauchly attempted to apply to patent their ideas for the ENIAC, the courts decided that the report constituted prior publication, and their patent application failed, meaning the key ideas and concepts from the ENIAC, many which define modern computers, were now in public domain and could be used freely
Great people are warranted discussion, but as someone who was once in the academic math world, I had to quit reading after a few sentences.<p>Genius is a very real thing, but I don't need to read adulation after adulation in a series of anecdotes and quotes that will only make me feel inadequate.<p>The mathematics itself is greater than the mathematician, who himself craps on the toilet like anyone else. Focus on the math, not the mathematician. It will make you happier.