What fascinates me is this man with one of the greatest raw intellects of anyone who ever lived was also very human and flawed in some ways. The guy who would fall asleep not knowing how to solve a math problem and immediately have the solution upon waking (one of the anecdotes I've read about him) was the same guy who liked to ogle at women excessively and crack dirty jokes.
The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
171–180 of 282 posts
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#172> von Neumann proposed a description for a computer architecture now known as the von Neumann architecture Well, he actually described an already existing design by Eckert and Mauchly under his name and this paper was illegally disclosed. For the ones interested in this and other fascinating stories about ENIAC, here is a good book: https://www.amazon.com/Eniac-Triumphs-Tragedies-Worlds-Compu... ; worth reading is al…
This isn't really true. There was no existing architecture and even if there was, Eckert and Mauchly weren't the only ones involved. ENIAC itself encapsulated almost none of the Von Neumann architecture principles. While it's true Von Neumann's paper started as a summary of ongoing discussions on computer architecture for the EDVAC with a group that included Eckert, Mauchly, Arthur Burks, and others, Von Neumann's pr…
There is not only Jean Bartik; there is a lot of recorded history, even court cases that left many files and affidavits. Bartik's commentary lent itself because it is with the book I referenced. Burks' case is also amply documented. He wanted to be registered as an inventor on the patent after the fact, which was denied to him, even by a court. In his bitterness, he then made many claims. The comment by Bartik you reference should be seen in this context.
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#173> von Neumann proposed a description for a computer architecture now known as the von Neumann architecture Well, he actually described an already existing design by Eckert and Mauchly under his name and this paper was illegally disclosed. For the ones interested in this and other fascinating stories about ENIAC, here is a good book: https://www.amazon.com/Eniac-Triumphs-Tragedies-Worlds-Compu... ; worth reading is al…
What a crime that such 22 year old memories are locked away in an amazon comment, to be lost whenever amazon deems it necessary to cull comments older than a certain age.
It's not locked away. Copy the text and save it on your disk if you think it's important to you. Publish it on your own blog if you think it's important to everyone.
People seem to forget about the "save" functionality included in every web browser for some reason. You should save anything you deem important enough if you fear it might be gone one day. This is no different from acquiring a copy of an important book for your own shelf.
Where would you prefer this comment to reside? Where would it have lived before the web?
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#174> von Neumann proposed a description for a computer architecture now known as the von Neumann architecture Well, he actually described an already existing design by Eckert and Mauchly under his name and this paper was illegally disclosed. For the ones interested in this and other fascinating stories about ENIAC, here is a good book: https://www.amazon.com/Eniac-Triumphs-Tragedies-Worlds-Compu... ; worth reading is al…
ENIAC the worlds first computer? What about Z3 by Konrad Zuse? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z3_(computer)
The claim was the first programmable, general-purpose "electronic computer". Zuse's machine was "electro mechanic" (i.e. based on relays instead of tubes).
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#175Is it just me or does it seem like there something like there were a lot of celebrity-level STEM heroes to come out of the early 20th century. These folks all seemed to work together closely. Maybe these things take time, but it just doesn't seem like there is anything remotely like this going on today, despite far greater access to education and increases in global population. Is it perhaps that the limelight is les…
I think research has become a lot bigger, more accessible, collaborative and derivative since the early 20th century. There are probably tons of graduate students with the intellect of a Einstein or a von Neumann who will likely never get the same recognition because they will be competing with (or working with) others for the same breakthroughs.
We had a lot of early "heroes" in Artificial Intelligence, but their accomplishments were eclipsed by newer breakthroughs in a short amount of time by equally smart people. Overall, this is great for humanity since we are pushing boundaries much quicker than was possible earlier.
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
How come it's known as "von Neumann" architecture?
The name "von Neumann" is rightly applied to this, because von Neumann was the first who has written a complete and consistent description of this architecture, so that anybody could understand it and build computers based on this architecture. The Eckert group had some rather vague ideas about the architecture of their future computer, the successor of ENIAC, and those ideas certainly included some kind of stored pr…
They were "secretive" because they were obligated to do so. It was a secret, military project, and nothing could be published. Ironically, it was the security officer (H. Goldstein) who (illegally) circulated the Neumann paper; no one had expected it, least of all the actual inventors.
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
0! = 1 is not hard to accept, since it follows a rule. You just need to look at it backwards. To get the previous factorial (Ni-1)! you need to divide the N! by N 4! = 24 ;; 24 / 4 = 6 3! = 6 ;; 6 / 3 = 2 2! = 2 ;; 2 / 2 = 1 1!= 1 ;; 1 / 1 = 1 0! = 1
This looks even more natural from the programmer’s standpoint: reduction of a set of numbers by summation starts with 0, and reduction by multiplication, with 1; so, if the set is empty (has zero elements) the result is simply the starting number (0 or 1, respectively).
And so in general the reduction of an empty list should always the neutral element of the operator.
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#178Lets speculate this is entirely nurture. How do you get as smart as von Neumann? Zettelkasten?
Von Neumann did it by watching loads of Khan Academy videos on YouTube, taking regular Vitamin D supplements, using Anki cards and practicing mindfulness meditation.
I should add that Von Neumann only started with maths at 39. He’s actually a self taught PHP programmer by background.
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
The name "von Neumann" is rightly applied to this, because von Neumann was the first who has written a complete and consistent description of this architecture, so that anybody could understand it and build computers based on this architecture. The Eckert group had some rather vague ideas about the architecture of their future computer, the successor of ENIAC, and those ideas certainly included some kind of stored pr…
They were "secretive" because they were obligated to do so. It was a secret, military project, and nothing could be published. Ironically, it was the security officer (H. Goldstein) who (illegally) circulated the Neumann paper; no one had expected it, least of all the actual inventors.
Did von Neumann himself ever acknowledge that the whole thing originated somewhere else or did he cite any of that group's findings?
In all documentaries on the origins of computers that I've watched, von Neumann gets all of the recognition while many of us have heard about Eckert and Mauchly from a Wikipedia article or comment deep down a relevant article.
Re: The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann (2019)
#180Is it just me or does it seem like there something like there were a lot of celebrity-level STEM heroes to come out of the early 20th century. These folks all seemed to work together closely. Maybe these things take time, but it just doesn't seem like there is anything remotely like this going on today, despite far greater access to education and increases in global population. Is it perhaps that the limelight is les…
Scientists become famous partly due to their accomplishments and partly due to their life story. Would John Nash be famous if it weren’t for his tragic struggles with mental health? Would I know about Feynman if it weren’t for “Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman”, his safecracking, and the topless bars? Would Stephen Hawking be a household name if he weren’t disabled? WW2 gave a fascinating context to many scientific p…
I would offer Terry Tao as a counterexample. The only thing strange about him is how, well, not-strange he is!