John von Neumann

Also known as Janos Lajos Neumann, János Lajos Neumann, von Neumann, Neumann János Lajos, John Louis von Neumann

Hungarian and American mathematician and physicist (1903–1957)

OverviewAI-generated

John von Neumann was a mathematician, computer scientist, physicist, and economist. He worked in functional analysis, operator theory, mathematics, and physics. His notable works include *Lectures on quantum electrodynamics*, *Preliminary discussion of the logical design of an electronic computing insturment*, *Izbrannye trudy po funkt︠s︡ionalʹnomu analizu*, *Falsafah-ʼi riyāz̤ī*, and *Teori͡ia igr i ėkonomicheskoe povedenie*. He participated in the Manhattan Project.

Born Neumann János Lajos in Budapest in 1903, he held citizenship in Hungary and the United States. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1957. His employers included Princeton University, the United States Atomic Energy Commission, the University of Hamburg, and the Institute for Advanced Study. He received the Medal of Freedom, Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal, Bôcher Memorial Prize, and Enrico Fermi Award. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, and Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Wikiquote, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: 1903
Died: 1957
Works: 64

Top works

Lectures on quantum electrodynamics
Preliminary discussion of the logical design of an electronic computing insturment
Izbrannye trudy po funkt︠s︡ionalʹnomu analizu
Falsafah-ʼi riyāz̤ī
Teori͡ia igr i ėkonomicheskoe povedenie

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Group

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 3
Total plays: 5

via Last.fm · John von Neumann

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple
· 1996 · cited 204,591x
Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold
· 2021 · cited 43,635x
Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology
· 2000 · cited 36,910x
Matplotlib: A 2D Graphics Environment
· 2007 · cited 35,581x
The MOS 36-ltem Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)
· 1992 · cited 29,131x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

“Any one who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin. For, as has been pointed out several times, there is no such thing as a random number — there are only methods to produce random numbers, and a strict arithmetic procedure of course is not such a method.”
“The sciences do not try to explain, they hardly even try to interpret, they mainly make models. By a model is meant a mathematical construct which, with the addition of certain verbal interpretations, describes observed phenomena. The justification of such a mathematical construct is solely and precisely that it is expected to work.”
“It is exceptional that one should be able to acquire the understanding of a process without having previously acquired a deep familiarity with running it, with using it, before one has assimilated it in an instinctive and empirical way… Thus any discussion of the nature of intellectual effort in any field is difficult, unless it presupposes an easy, routine familiarity with that field. In mathematics this limitation becomes very severe.”
“When we talk mathematics, we may be discussing a secondary language built on the primary language of the nervous system.”
“It is just as foolish to complain that people are selfish and treacherous as it is to complain that the magnetic field does not increase unless the electric field has a curl. Both are laws of nature.”
“You should call it entropy, for two reasons. In the first place your uncertainty function has been used in statistical mechanics under that name, so it already has a name. In the second place, and more important, no one really knows what entropy really is, so in a debate you will always have the advantage.”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

John von Neumann (/vɒn ˈnɔɪmən/ von NOY-mən; Hungarian: Neumann János Lajos [ˈnɒjmɒn ˈjaːnoʃ ˈlɒjoʃ]; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, integrating pure and applied sciences and making major contributions to many fields, including mathematics, physics, economics, computing, and statistics. He was a pioneer in building the mathematical framework of quantum physics, in the development of functional analysis, and in game theory, introducing or codifying concepts including cellular automata, the universal constructor and the digital computer. His analysis of the structure of self-replication preceded the discovery of the structure of DNA.

During World War II, von Neumann worked on the Manhattan Project. He developed the mathematical models behind the explosive lenses used in the implosion-type nuclear weapon. Before and after the war, he consulted for many organizations including the Office of Scientific Research and Development, the United States Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory, the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. At the peak of his influence in the 1950s, he chaired a number of Defense Department committees including the Strategic Missile Evaluation Committee and the ICBM Scientific Advisory Committee. He was also a member of the influential Atomic Energy Commission in charge of all atomic energy development in the country. He played a key role alongside Bernard Schriever and Trevor Gardner in the design and development of the United States' first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programs. At that time he was considered the nation's foremost expert on nuclear weaponry and the leading defense scientist at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John von Neumann” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.