Great Mathematicians · Modern
John von Neumann
Perhaps the fastest mind of the 20th century: foundations of quantum mechanics, the minimax theorem and game theory, the implosion design of the atomic bomb, the stored-program computer architecture, Monte Carlo methods, and self-replicating machines.
Step 1 of 6 · Overview35 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: Turing; Nash. Next: Claude Shannon. Sources: Ananyo Bhattacharya's *The Man from the Future* (2021), Norman Macrae's *John von Neumann*, von Neumann & Morgenstern (1944), the 'First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC' (1945).Next: 1. Life