Thread

1. srejk · 1790951720 · focus · HN ↗

   When you look at it holistically, von Neumann was more influential in science and mathematics in the 20th century than either Einstein or Planck. He wasn't as obvious a symbol of the scientific revolution, but his contributions to SO MANY THINGS at a fundamental level makes him stand out to me.

   1. gradus_ad · 1790968720 · focus · HN ↗

      Genuinely curious, because I know von Neumann was an intellectual giant, but what was his most original/groundbreaking contribution? My impression of his work has always been that he would survey a field, find some particular problem that needed attending to, tidily solve it, then move on to some other domain. But I guess there's a latent assumption there that he didn't do anything huge or groundbreaking.

      1. jungturk · 1790983561 · focus · HN ↗

         Battacharya's The Man From the Future is an entertaining read (on JvN's life and achievements)

         1. flopsamjetsam · 1790984377 · focus · HN ↗

            I'm reading this now, and can confirm it's very entertaining, and gave me more perspective on his life and achievements (coming from a CS background).
         2. mkl · 1790990109 · focus · HN ↗

            *Bhattacharya

            1. mkl · 1791041516 · focus · HN ↗

               Not an idle complaint. My library's search isn't fuzzy enough for the misspelled name to work.

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