The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann
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- Author：Ananyo Bhattacharya
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Summary
A FINANCIAL TIMES AND TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR
An exhilarating new biography of John von Neumann: the lost genius who invented our world
'A sparkling book， with an intoxicating mix of pen-portraits and grand historical narrative。 Above all it fizzes with a dizzying mix of deliciously vital ideas。 。 。 A staggering achievement' Tim Harford
The smartphones in our pockets and computers like brains。 The vagaries of game theory and evolutionary biology。 Self-replicating moon bases and nuclear weapons。 All bear the fingerprints of one remarkable man: John von Neumann。
Born in Budapest at the turn of the century， von Neumann is one of the most influential scientists to have ever lived。 His colleagues believed he had the fastest brain on the planet - bar none。 He was instrumental in the Manhattan Project and helped formulate the bedrock of Cold War geopolitics and modern economic theory。 He created the first ever programmable digital computer。 He prophesied the potential of nanotechnology and， from his deathbed， expounded on the limits of brains and computers - and how they might be overcome。
Taking us on an astonishing journey， Ananyo Bhattacharya explores how a combination of genius and unique historical circumstance allowed a single man to sweep through so many different fields of science， sparking revolutions wherever he went。
Insightful and illuminating， The Man from the Future is a thrilling intellectual biography of the visionary thinker who shaped our century。
An exhilarating new biography of John von Neumann: the lost genius who invented our world
'A sparkling book， with an intoxicating mix of pen-portraits and grand historical narrative。 Above all it fizzes with a dizzying mix of deliciously vital ideas。 。 。 A staggering achievement' Tim Harford
The smartphones in our pockets and computers like brains。 The vagaries of game theory and evolutionary biology。 Self-replicating moon bases and nuclear weapons。 All bear the fingerprints of one remarkable man: John von Neumann。
Born in Budapest at the turn of the century， von Neumann is one of the most influential scientists to have ever lived。 His colleagues believed he had the fastest brain on the planet - bar none。 He was instrumental in the Manhattan Project and helped formulate the bedrock of Cold War geopolitics and modern economic theory。 He created the first ever programmable digital computer。 He prophesied the potential of nanotechnology and， from his deathbed， expounded on the limits of brains and computers - and how they might be overcome。
Taking us on an astonishing journey， Ananyo Bhattacharya explores how a combination of genius and unique historical circumstance allowed a single man to sweep through so many different fields of science， sparking revolutions wherever he went。
Insightful and illuminating， The Man from the Future is a thrilling intellectual biography of the visionary thinker who shaped our century。
Reviews
Jeff
，
Good bio on a somewhat obscure mathematician。 The author will tell you that he is responsible for all of scientific advance since the 40s， which is a bit much， but an interesting life and lots of far-reaching ideas came out of his head。 I read it in Kindle and the figures and photos are nowhere near where they should be。。。the single biggest problem with this book。
David
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4。5 star
Peter Yang
，
A wide-ranging biography of John von Neumann， one of history's greatest geniuses and polymaths。 Before reading the biography， I was aware of von Neumann's work on set theory， quantum mechanics， the Manhattan Project， ENIAC/EDVAC， and game theory。 I was not aware of his involvement with RAND and self-replicating machines。I liked how the biography detailed some of the jargon associated with von Neumann's work， such as the concept of two-player zero-sum games。 Sometimes， I felt the author went too A wide-ranging biography of John von Neumann， one of history's greatest geniuses and polymaths。 Before reading the biography， I was aware of von Neumann's work on set theory， quantum mechanics， the Manhattan Project， ENIAC/EDVAC， and game theory。 I was not aware of his involvement with RAND and self-replicating machines。I liked how the biography detailed some of the jargon associated with von Neumann's work， such as the concept of two-player zero-sum games。 Sometimes， I felt the author went too deep into the technical details to the point that the biography seemed more an account of 20th-century science rather than， well， a biography; huge portions of the book were devoted to talking about what von Neumann's colleagues did rather than what von Neumann did。 The biography would have been better if the author kept a consistent focus on von Neumann throughout。Nonetheless， I still highly recommend this biography， as it taught me a great deal more about a man who has （for a long time） been a personal hero of mine。 。。。more
Ed Erwin
，
This biography is thin on personal life details， focusing instead on von Neumann's many contributions to science and mathematics。 And that is just what I wanted。 He made contributions in so many different fields that it is hard for any single person to explain all of them to a lay audience。 I think the author did a very good job。 Personally， I'd like a little more detail on some of the math， but I'm probably an outlier in that way。 This biography is thin on personal life details， focusing instead on von Neumann's many contributions to science and mathematics。 And that is just what I wanted。 He made contributions in so many different fields that it is hard for any single person to explain all of them to a lay audience。 I think the author did a very good job。 Personally， I'd like a little more detail on some of the math， but I'm probably an outlier in that way。 。。。more
Lucille E Nguyen
，
Pretty good overview of von Neumann's life and work。 Occasionally veers off course into other things， but overall a good read。 Pretty good overview of von Neumann's life and work。 Occasionally veers off course into other things， but overall a good read。 。。。more
Artūrs Kaņepājs
，
So central， so impactful in so many areas was this man。 The numerous diversions in the book eg on game theory， Wolfram were illuminating and enjoyable。
Daniel
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I have been interested in John Von Neumann ever since I first learned about him from reading Dark Sun by Richard Rhodes。 I knew that he was a mathematician， that he died at a young age， that he worked with computers。 Since I like programming I knew that there is a computer architecture called von Neumann， he worked on game theory。 So I knew a little bit about him。Some of the interesting things that I learned about him from the man from the future。 I learned that he was married twice。 He had 2 br I have been interested in John Von Neumann ever since I first learned about him from reading Dark Sun by Richard Rhodes。 I knew that he was a mathematician， that he died at a young age， that he worked with computers。 Since I like programming I knew that there is a computer architecture called von Neumann， he worked on game theory。 So I knew a little bit about him。Some of the interesting things that I learned about him from the man from the future。 I learned that he was married twice。 He had 2 brothers， and a daughter。 He got a new car ever year because he was a bad driver。 His second Wife Klara did some computer programming; which I thought was so cool。 He did not like exercise or sports。I was surprised that he learned about biology and thought about how machines would replicate。 That was the focus of the last chapter in the book。 In that chapter I learned about Stephen Wolfram who is amazing。 When he was 15 Stephen published a paper on physics。 Wow。 Anyway I did not know what Automata was and now I at least a little about it。 Reading The man from the future makes me wish I had payed attention in math class and worked hard at math。 Its amazing to me the amount of things John Von Neumann got done in 54 years。 And he was a nice man to boot。 Even though I did not understand everything that John Von Neumann did I found the man from the future to be an fascinating read about one of the if not the most brilliant man in history。 And it makes me want to be as good at math as John Von Neumann was。 。。。more
Adam
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John von Neumann was clearly a genius who did some amazing things。 His contributions to computing seem significant。 I think I'm not a big fan of biographies。 At times I wanted more detail on the math and what he did。 At other times I didn't care about it。 This happens to deal with the science of some thing I'm interested in， which was great。 I really don't care about a set that includes other sets or the falsafiability of all of mathematics。Would have gotten three stars but I docked one for a po John von Neumann was clearly a genius who did some amazing things。 His contributions to computing seem significant。 I think I'm not a big fan of biographies。 At times I wanted more detail on the math and what he did。 At other times I didn't care about it。 This happens to deal with the science of some thing I'm interested in， which was great。 I really don't care about a set that includes other sets or the falsafiability of all of mathematics。Would have gotten three stars but I docked one for a pointless Greta Thunberg quote at the end。 Peak end rule and the end sucked。 。。。more
Isaac
，
A good 10 years ago I spent the better part of a day in the office of a Genetics Professor trying to help him with his email。 While we waited emails to migrate or sync he chatted me up about a variety of subjects， but one that stuck with me was his admiration for a super genius John von Neumann。Over the years I've looked for von Neumann bios a couple times with no luck， so I was delighted when a review of a brand new one arrived in my inbox as part of the ACX Book Review Contest。I probably shoul A good 10 years ago I spent the better part of a day in the office of a Genetics Professor trying to help him with his email。 While we waited emails to migrate or sync he chatted me up about a variety of subjects， but one that stuck with me was his admiration for a super genius John von Neumann。Over the years I've looked for von Neumann bios a couple times with no luck， so I was delighted when a review of a brand new one arrived in my inbox as part of the ACX Book Review Contest。I probably should've read that review （or the title） a little more carefully though， this is not really a biography。 There's a little bit about von Neumann's life but it's about as intimate as a Wikipedia page and only enough to get to the next key research paper or book。When it gets to one of the titular ideas it summarizes the science in a way that is mostly understandable to mainstream audiences like me。 Then it follows the thread of the science long past van Neumann's life and into the Wikipedia page biographies of the scientists and institutions who continued his work。 Then， when that branch is exhausted and you've almost forgotten what you're reading， you're jolted back to von Neumann for a few pages before heading down another rabbit hole。There's nothing wrong with that format， some of the science was more interesting/understandable to me than others， but I think this book could've been much more enjoyable if it colored some of the events with more personal stories that gave you a sense for for the interesting individual he was。 。。。more
Raghu
，
An excellent biography of truly "the last man who knew everything" （a title used for Fermi's - and Thomas Young's - biographies but most appropriate for von Neumann）The book wonderfully balances details of von Neumann's scientific and technical work （and its long-term impact） with the expected anecdotal masala of his mental prowess and his larger-than-life life and personality。 At each stage， von Neumann seems to anticipate （and then conjure） the next key breakthrough going from math， to （quantu An excellent biography of truly "the last man who knew everything" （a title used for Fermi's - and Thomas Young's - biographies but most appropriate for von Neumann）The book wonderfully balances details of von Neumann's scientific and technical work （and its long-term impact） with the expected anecdotal masala of his mental prowess and his larger-than-life life and personality。 At each stage， von Neumann seems to anticipate （and then conjure） the next key breakthrough going from math， to （quantum） physics， to computation， to （artificial） life itself， as though he was indeed a man from the future！ Probably the greatest synthesizer and distiller of whole domains of knowledge。von Neumann quickly understood the importance of using the "computational lens" to look at problems （rather than just math or physics approximations） giving him an edge over other generalists traversing scientific fields。This is one area that hopefully Ananyo can extend on in a future book。 He is exceptionally good at explaining and then contextualizing the big breakthroughs in computational thinking， from Godel's incompleteness theorem （one of the best explanations I've read）， Universal Turing Machines， equilibria in non-cooperative games （von Neumann seems to have favored cooperative games， so Shapely over Nash）， to self-replicating automata。Unsurprisingly （for an Economist alum）， Ananyo dwells more on von Neumann's impact on economics and geopolitics （with long deviations into cold war strategy and RAND's history）。Also， being a trained scientist （protein crystallography）， Ananyo is able to see through the personality clashes and driving motivations underlying scientific breakthroughs and has several wry adjudications that seem spot-on。 A pleasant surprise was von Neumann's advocacy for "open-sourcing" the computing work （synthesizing his and others ideas to jumpstart the revolution） and arguing to keep those ideas in the public domain。 。。。more
Lee
，
An entertaining， smoothly-written biography emphasizing ideas， focus on a thinker who doesn't quite have the recognition it seems he should。 An entertaining， smoothly-written biography emphasizing ideas， focus on a thinker who doesn't quite have the recognition it seems he should。 。。。more
Simon Eskildsen
，
I've always wondered why a biography didn't exist on von Neumann sooner。 Well，turns out it's a pretty momentous feat to understand everything he even did。 Thepolymathic abilities of this man blows the mind。 I've always wondered why a biography didn't exist on von Neumann sooner。 Well，turns out it's a pretty momentous feat to understand everything he even did。 Thepolymathic abilities of this man blows the mind。 。。。more
Ben
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Ok， this was a good overview， but not much more。 Many of von Neumann's accomplishments were nicely introduced， their importance put into context。 Yet， I was hoping for more background insight on von Neumann， the person—of which there was almost nothing。 This way， the book read more like a distant fan report than an actual biography。 Probably worth it if you know little about him， yet， and/or want to understand his research in mathematics， economics， and computer science。 Ok， this was a good overview， but not much more。 Many of von Neumann's accomplishments were nicely introduced， their importance put into context。 Yet， I was hoping for more background insight on von Neumann， the person—of which there was almost nothing。 This way， the book read more like a distant fan report than an actual biography。 Probably worth it if you know little about him， yet， and/or want to understand his research in mathematics， economics， and computer science。 。。。more
Frank Kool
，
A very well written overview of the man， his ideas， and his tremendous influence across the various academic fields of mathematics， physics， economics， politics， and neuroscience。 Some anecdotes about him and his fellow Giga-Brain Overlords made me chuckle， so please enjoy the following selection:Von Neumann as seen by Edward Teller: "Von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my three-year-old son， and the two of them would talk as equals， and I sometimes wondered if he used the same princi A very well written overview of the man， his ideas， and his tremendous influence across the various academic fields of mathematics， physics， economics， politics， and neuroscience。 Some anecdotes about him and his fellow Giga-Brain Overlords made me chuckle， so please enjoy the following selection:Von Neumann as seen by Edward Teller: "Von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my three-year-old son， and the two of them would talk as equals， and I sometimes wondered if he used the same principle when he talked to the rest of us。"On Von Neumanns aversion to physical activity: "When his second wife， Klári， tried to persuade him to ski， he offered her a divorce。"On Norbert Wiener: "Wiener， for his part， had the discomfiting habit of falling asleep during discussions and snoring loudly， only to wake up with some pertinent comment demonstrating he had somehow been listening after all。"On Kubrick's Dr。 Strangelove:"The director borrowed so much from On Thermonuclear War that [the author] Kahn demanded royalties， to which Kubrick replied， 'That's not how it works， Herman！'" 。。。more
Stefan Mitev
，
Ако трябва да назовете кой е геният на двадесети век， едва ли ще се сетите за Джон фон Нойман。 Но може би трябва。 Неслучайно той е наречен "човекът от бъдещето" заради визионерските идеи， далеч изпреварили времето си。 Унгарец по произход， фон Нойман е принуден да емигрира в САЩ поради широко разпространения антисемитизъм в Европа。 Фон Нойман взема активно участие в разработването на атомната бомба - проект Манхатън。 След края на войната става пионер в компютърните науки， теория на игрите и въвеж Ако трябва да назовете кой е геният на двадесети век， едва ли ще се сетите за Джон фон Нойман。 Но може би трябва。 Неслучайно той е наречен "човекът от бъдещето" заради визионерските идеи， далеч изпреварили времето си。 Унгарец по произход， фон Нойман е принуден да емигрира в САЩ поради широко разпространения антисемитизъм в Европа。 Фон Нойман взема активно участие в разработването на атомната бомба - проект Манхатън。 След края на войната става пионер в компютърните науки， теория на игрите и въвежда идеята за самореплициращи се машини （автоматони）。 Фон Нойман първи използва термина "сингулярност" в неговия технологичен смисъл。 Изказва опасения за натрупването на въглероден диоксид в атмосферата （парников ефект） много преди това да стане актуална тема。Книгата "Човекът от бъдещето" е изключително сложна за четене и изисква сериозни познания по математиката， информатика и природни науки。 Засягат се идеи като Entscheidungsproblem на Гьодел， p срещу np проблем и има подробно описание на играта "Живот" на Джон Конуей， от която мозъкът ви може да експлодира。 Наистина， проверете в Wikipedia Conway's Game of Life。Мога да препоръчам книгата само на хора， които не се страхуват да се почувстват глупави。 Това със сигурност ще стане след прочитането。 。。。more
Manuel Porras ortega
，
Loved it。 I had just a vague idea of all the contributions of Von Neumann to our current way of life， but this book gives you a lot of insight about it， and as a programmer myself， it was great to get to know the story of the first computers， and the first programs， coded by Johnny's wife herself， Klari Von Neumann。I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding our current technology， or just to meet one of the greatest minds of our time。 Loved it。 I had just a vague idea of all the contributions of Von Neumann to our current way of life， but this book gives you a lot of insight about it， and as a programmer myself， it was great to get to know the story of the first computers， and the first programs， coded by Johnny's wife herself， Klari Von Neumann。I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding our current technology， or just to meet one of the greatest minds of our time。 。。。more
Tony
，
Any book about John von Neumann should be good just based on what everything he did。 The difference will come from how well things are weaved together， and this book does a reasonable job。 The author decides to focus a lot on how others advanced fields that von Neumann established which can feel a bit shaky。 It sometimes feels to be more of the author's opinion on how the field evolved， becoming only loosely related to the book's subject。 Any book about John von Neumann should be good just based on what everything he did。 The difference will come from how well things are weaved together， and this book does a reasonable job。 The author decides to focus a lot on how others advanced fields that von Neumann established which can feel a bit shaky。 It sometimes feels to be more of the author's opinion on how the field evolved， becoming only loosely related to the book's subject。 。。。more
Eitan Levy
，
This is an intellectual biography。 Bits and pieces about Von Neumann's life are interspersed with long sections describing his intellectual achievements， their context and consequences， both intellectual and historical。 The author's great accomplishment is in turning descriptions of high level math and physics into something comprehensible to a layman like myself， and turning a string of such descriptions into a compelling narrative with a minimum of distractions。 Highly recommended。 This is an intellectual biography。 Bits and pieces about Von Neumann's life are interspersed with long sections describing his intellectual achievements， their context and consequences， both intellectual and historical。 The author's great accomplishment is in turning descriptions of high level math and physics into something comprehensible to a layman like myself， and turning a string of such descriptions into a compelling narrative with a minimum of distractions。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Edvinas Litvinas
，
John is how I imagined scientists before going to university。
Samuel Kordik
，
Fascinating biography of a man I’ve heard of frequently but knew very little about。 John Von Neumann is often said to be the most intelligent human being to ever live， and certainly the most intelligent man in recent history。 This book illustrated why he was so smart， shed insight on his childhood and upbringing， and walked through the different phases of his life and different things he worked on and discovered。 Along the way， the author provides a deep enough discussion of the scientific and m Fascinating biography of a man I’ve heard of frequently but knew very little about。 John Von Neumann is often said to be the most intelligent human being to ever live， and certainly the most intelligent man in recent history。 This book illustrated why he was so smart， shed insight on his childhood and upbringing， and walked through the different phases of his life and different things he worked on and discovered。 Along the way， the author provides a deep enough discussion of the scientific and mathematical concepts involved to get a real sense of why Von Neumann’s work was so brilliant and innovative。 Because of these frequent interludes， this book is not as approachable as many would be and might be overly challenging of the reader is not already passingly familiar with concepts in higher mathematics。 I came away with a greater appreciation for Von Neumann and a lot more insight into his life。 We truly live in a world that is built on his shoulders—all of our computers and smart phones are built on the basic design he came up with， the atomic bomb depended on his insights， and the entire field of game theory—which guided Cold War defense strategy， heavily impacted economics， and continues to drive strategic decisions in many industries—was his creation。 He frequently dabbled in a new area of science or math， came up with brilliant new insights， then moved on to new things while many geniuses have then devoted their entire careers to exploring one little niche of what he came up with。 Truly a remarkable， unparalleled human being。 。。。more
Nick
，
Whoever manages to clone JVN will rule the stars。
Nader
，
Incredible man that was involved in basically everything important in philosophy， mathematics or physics related in the 20th century 🤯
Matti Andreas
，
Great biography of Von Neumann， I never read anything about him before but he pops up in a lot of different science books - so it's great to finally know a little more。The book is pretty fast and not too difficult to read I think， obviously it is easier to follow along if you have seen some of the fields he worked in before like game theory， linear programming， physics， biology， automata theory， self-replication etc。 but they are not strict prerequisites imo。 Great biography of Von Neumann， I never read anything about him before but he pops up in a lot of different science books - so it's great to finally know a little more。The book is pretty fast and not too difficult to read I think， obviously it is easier to follow along if you have seen some of the fields he worked in before like game theory， linear programming， physics， biology， automata theory， self-replication etc。 but they are not strict prerequisites imo。 。。。more
Charles Haywood
，
This is a disappointing book。 Not awful， but not good。 The Man from the Future manages to take the life of the polymath John von Neumann and to make it dull， never giving us any real sense of the man， although we do get some sense of his accomplishments。 Beyond that， it’s filled with bad history about ancillary matters， making the reader wonder about the veracity of core biographical matters。 And worst of all， the author， Ananyo Bhattacharya， wastes our time by endlessly trying to shoehorn into This is a disappointing book。 Not awful， but not good。 The Man from the Future manages to take the life of the polymath John von Neumann and to make it dull， never giving us any real sense of the man， although we do get some sense of his accomplishments。 Beyond that， it’s filled with bad history about ancillary matters， making the reader wonder about the veracity of core biographical matters。 And worst of all， the author， Ananyo Bhattacharya， wastes our time by endlessly trying to shoehorn into von Neumann’s story fantasy contributions by supposedly marginalized people， who are unknown because they did nothing worth noting。 All this turns what might have been an excellent book into a chore。Von Neumann has the reputation of being the smartest of the super-intelligent men who made the twentieth century a technological wonderland。 Bhattacharya panders to this perception。 He begins the book with an often-heard quote from Edward Teller， wondering if von Neumann talked to men like Teller in the same way as von Neumann talked to Teller’s three-year-old son。 The implication is that von Neumann was a unique genius。 But although von Neumann was a lot smarter than me， the evidence doesn’t bear out that he was qualitatively different from other geniuses。 Moreover， he seems to have， to a great extent， frittered away his talents by never sticking with one field enough to make truly earthshattering contributions。 To be sure， being a polymath performing at the highest levels in different （though related） fields， most of them entirely new， is itself impressive。 Nonetheless， one wonders whether if von Neumann had stuck with one field he would have accomplished unique feats—or if， on the other hand， he switched among fields seeing that he was not able to achieve unique feats。Von Neumann was born in 1903 in Budapest。 His father， Max， was a well-connected and very successful businessman， part of a wealthy extended family。 In 1913， he was awarded a heritable title of minor nobility for services to the government， elevating him socially above the mere bourgeoisie。 In Hungary， at that time， people belonging to the nobility， lower or higher， generally had an extra name （praedicatum in Latin） before their family name， theoretically and often actually designating the village where the family had its lands in the past。 It is （or was， I presume） generally used only in formal settings， but sometimes it was used more often， especially to differentiate individuals with similar family names。 Max chose as his praedicatum “margittai，” that is， “of Margitta，” a town in Transylvania （later stolen by the Rumanians）， because his wife’s name was Margit （he had no other connection to the town）。This is where the “von，” a German， not Hungarian， mark of nobility， came from。 John von Neumann was born simple Neumann János Lajos， in the Hungarian naming style （family name first）。 He started using the “von” when studying in Switzerland as a teenager because he wanted to signify to his German classmates he was noble， and the praedicatum was too unwieldy for this。 Perhaps giving us a clue to von Neumann’s personality， this was a bit pretentious。 Noble titles are rarer in Germany and Austria than they were in Hungary （something like ten percent of the Hungarian population had such titles， which originally exempted the holder from many taxes， and required him to fight）。You’re probably wondering， why does Haywood care about the nuances of von Neumann’s family name？ Ah， because this discussion by Bhattacharya struck a chord with me， because my maternal grandfather was also Hungarian minor nobility， something I knew as a young child， and tried to use it （unsuccessfully） to lord over my classmates （some would say I am still trying to lord it over others）。 His praedicatum was ráczalmási， after Rácalmás， a village south of Budapest。 （My family got noble status in 1686 for killing Turks， not， like Max， for economic advice to the state。） I did not inherit; titles do not pass through the female line， although I suppose I could petition Karl von Habsburg to allow the descent， and in fact I got my grandfather， before he died， to sign a paper indicating his desire for this。 I doubt I will ever execute this plan， however。Anyway， back to von Neumann。 He was a prodigy as a child， able to multiply large numbers in his head， read voraciously far above his age level， perform feats of memory， and so forth。 （Strangely given its association with mathematical genius， he was bad at chess。） His parents aggressively fed his abilities， though his father was skeptical of mathematics as a career， regarding it as not a good way to earn a living， and von Neumann was exposed to social and intellectual life at the highest Budapest levels， with a constant whirl of fascinating dinner guests。 It was a charmed life， like much bourgeois city life in turn-of-the-century Central Europe， before it all went wrong。Still， World War I did not touch the family in any meaningful way。 What did touch the family was events after the war， in 1919， when the Communist regime of Béla Kun viciously implemented the standard reign of terror that takes place whenever any Left group gains complete power。 Bhattacharya gets most of the details of this Red Terror wrong， and ludicrously claims that the post-Red Terror punishment of the guilty under Miklós Horthy was far worse than the Red Terror。 Bizarrely， Bhattacharya even imagines that the aftermath of the Red Terror endangered the family。 He says that “The von Neumann’s were spared by Horthy’s forces，” as if there were any chance that a man such as Max von Neumann would be sought for punishment—something Bhattacharya implicitly admits in the same sentence， when he says that “von Neumann’s schooling continued through the [post-Communist] upheaval more or less undisturbed。” No surprise， like most Hungarians， von Neumann became and remained violently opposed to Communism， something that fed his later work with nuclear weapons。Von Neumann’s education progressed in the European style—excellent teachers at demanding schools。 At this same time other Hungarians important in the future were swimming in the same circles， of which more later: Edward Teller， Leo Szilard， Paul Erdős， John Kemeny， and Eugene Wigner among them。 Von Neumann wrote his first mathematical paper， related to set theory， at seventeen， which he refined a few years later to become his doctoral thesis。 Then he moved to Germany， to Göttingen， an important research center for mathematicians， because Germany at that time led the world in all forms of science （America was a backwater）。 There he met Werner Heisenberg， and involved himself in early development of quantum theory。 He wrote a book， Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics， as well as numerous papers， not only on quantum physics but also on game theory and continuing work in areas related to set theory。 Much of this is quite interesting。 Throughout the book， to give credit where credit is due， Bhattacharya does a good job explicating complicated mathematic concepts in a way that makes them reasonably comprehensible to the reader。In 1929， seeking a tenured professorship， von Neumann moved to Hamburg， but in 1930 was lured away by a massive paycheck to lecture at Princeton， in a scheme to use Rockefeller money to kick-start American intellectual progress in mathematics。 This was the Institute for Advanced Study， which later also hired Albert Einstein and many other famous scientists。 Von Neumann’s move to America had nothing at all to do with a feeling of anti-Semitism （as we will discuss， he was Jewish） or premonitions of future problems in Hungary or Germany; it was just for the money， no doubt in part because von Neumann had just gotten married to his childhood sweetheart。 Soon enough， though， it became unwise to return to Germany—Jews were being limited in positions they could get， and some Jews were being fired。 This loss was America’s gain， and von Neumann， and a great many other Jews， stayed （or came， if they were not already here）。From then on， von Neumann exhibited his lifelong tendency to bounce around， focusing on different topics and fields that caught his interest。 Most notably， somehow he became interested in the mathematical modeling of explosions， in particular shaped charges， which led to his recruitment as a consultant by various segments of the American military。 He ended up doing quite a bit of work， albeit not full-time， for the Manhattan Project （the plutonium bomb Fat Man used shaped charges）。 It was von Neumann who discovered that nuclear blasts maximized destruction （though not fallout） if airburst， and he continued defense work until his death。That wasn’t all he did in the 1940s and 1950s。 He became interested in the new field of computing， being introduced to computers through his defense work， and he worked on the early computers ENIAC and EDVAC。 In the late 1940s， he worked on cellular automata—algorithms that simulated life， first on paper， and then with computers （the game “Life” is an example， not created by von Neumann）， coming up with the first universal constructor， an algorithm that can replicate itself （and he theorized about what are now called von Neumann probes， self-replicating spacecraft that might be used to explore the vast distances of interstellar space）。 Unlike most men of the first intellectual rank， whose special abilities and contributions tend to decline after age forty， von Neumann never seemed to slow down， and he involved himself in several other fields。 Still， even Bhattacharya sees that von Neumann lacked focus。 Mentioning his work on the molecular basis of life， he says “In his usual way， von Neumann dabbled brilliantly， widely and rather inconclusively in the subject but intuitively hit upon a number of ideas that would prove to be fertile areas of research for others。”He was a difficult man personally。 He had distinct signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder， such as always flipping a light switch seven times。 In 1937 he and his first wife divorced， supposedly due to his inattention; he remarried a woman who divorced her second husband for him， and seems to have been a gold-digger。 Other than these flashes， Bhattacharya gives us little sense of the man， what he thought， what his emotions were。 This is most obvious in the author’s inadequate treatment of von Neumann’s illness and death。 In 1955 he was diagnosed with metastatic bone cancer， and he died hard in 1957， aged fifty-three。 He was terrified of death， and although he returned to practicing his Catholic faith right before the end， it seems to have given him little solace。 But Bhattacharya gives us only the most cursory treatment of these matters。 Maybe von Neumann left little first-hand evidence of his own thoughts; he does not seem to have been a frequent letter-writer， for example。 Still， he was a social man， not a hermit， so a more competent biographer could no doubt have spun a more substantial and interesting story about this and all the other personal elements of von Neumann’s life。One reason why von Neumann is still remembered， more than peers who were pure mathematicians， is that the things in which he interested himself in the 1940s and 1950s became extremely important technologies later—most notably the computer。 As many have pointed out， it is notable how many of these mid-century men who created the technologies that defined the twentieth century were Hungarian Jews， mostly from Budapest。 Their joke during the Manhattan Project， where they were very prominent， was that they were Martians， seeded here to help Earth。I have never found this hugely surprising。 As everyone who’s not a science-denier knows， Jews have naturally high average IQs， so you’re starting with a deep pool of talent。 You add cultural pressure to excel （similar to Asians today， resulting in similar resentment and similar limitations on advancement put in place by those otherwise shut out）。 And then you have to realize that Budapest had a very large number of Jews at the turn of the century and onwards。 A quarter of Budapest’s entire population was Jewish， and Budapest was by an order of magnitude the largest city in the country。 The Jews of Budapest were very integrated into the larger society， and a high percentage converted to Christianity， naturally， tightening their ties with wider society。 （Von Neumann’s father did not， but after his death in 1928， he and his brothers all converted to Catholicism。）Before the war， Jews dominated Hungarian professional and bourgeois groups。 They were seventy percent of the journalists in Budapest， for example， and thirty-five percent of those nationwide。 （My own great-grandfather was a prominent journalist in Budapest at the turn of the century， who died young of tuberculosis。 He wasn’t Jewish， although within our family we did have Jewish intermarriage。） They were eighty percent of those who worked in finance， and not because， in the common myth， finance was where Jews could be employed。 They were sixty percent of the doctors in private practice， and these figures continued across the professions。 Among this ferment， it seems inevitable that twenty or thirty men， the cream of the crop， all from rich， successful， elite families able to feed their talents， would rise to the top—although simple happenstance， luck， no doubt had something to do with it。Bhattacharya raises this topic， but botches the analysis。 He ascribes much of the Martians’ success to a fear that “the tolerant climate of Hungary might change overnight，” requiring excellence as a protective device。 That’s midwit hindsight bias; Bhattacharya offers no contemporaneous evidence of any such fear。 Hungary was much less anti-Semitic in the early twentieth century than America， and Jews， like the vast majority of Europeans， simply did not see the catastrophe looming on the horizon （part of the reason why， even in the far more anti-Semitic atmosphere of Germany or Austria， only a few Jews left before it was very late， or too late）。 Bhattacharya’s claim is akin to the fiction heard more and more in America， variations on “My grandfather volunteered to fight in the war because he wanted to help the Jews。” Sure he did。 The reality is that Jews did extremely well in Hungary， attracting more Jews， and in the nature of a statistical distribution some were talented beyond measure。Beyond the relatively narrow， though important， question of the Martians， it is true （though I am biased） that Hungarians， Jews and otherwise， do seem to punch above their weight （including those who fled after the 1956 revolution）。 Relative to their population， for a long time Hungarians have been very prominent in chess， certain sports （such as fencing）， and Nobel prizes。 Maybe part of this is due to the Hungarian personality， which is fond of fighting until the last dog dies。 The National Museum in Budapest is filled with canvases of heroic battles which the Hungarians lost， but went down with style。 Perhaps this is tied to attitudes that drive less fatal， but still spectacular， achievements。 It is hard to say。Finally， however， let’s talk about the worst fault of this book—its desperate desire to “elevate marginalized voices，” that is， to give undue and unwarranted attention to people of no importance and no accomplishments， who fit into approved identity buckets。 Any time any woman scientist appears in this book， she is always praised as a genius （“brilliant” is Bhattacharya’s go-to word for women）。 For example， one of the thousands of scientists who discussed von Neumann’s book on quantum physics in the 1930s was someone named Grete Hermann， an obscure German who purported to be both a philosopher and mathematician。 We are treated to several pages about her， with the usual silly claim that even though her ramblings were ignored at the time， now we know they are incredibly important， although why specifically somehow never seems to make it onto the page。I’ve written about this annoying authorial phenomenon before， focusing on the fictions that the sister of Isambard Kingdom Brunel， Sophia Brunel， was a genius engineer， and that the daughter of Lord Byron， Ada Lovelace， was the first computer programmer。 Such lies are everywhere， and fresh ones are piled constantly onto the steaming heap。 A few weeks ago a picture was going around Twitter of one Margaret Hamilton， who worked for the Apollo space program， next to a stack of bound printouts as tall as her。 The claim was that this was the code she had written for the Apollo program。 False。 Hamilton （who is still alive） was a mathematician， one of the rare women who had interest and expertise in computer programming。 In the late 1950s and early 1960s she bounced around to various government programming jobs。 All the accounts about her career with Apollo are pretty vague （which probably means untruths are floating around）， and the flavor of falsehood is not helped by that most anecdotes of supposedly important work done by Hamilton were offered only by Hamilton herself， and then parroted by a sympathetic audience。 But it appears she was hired as an Apollo programmer， and then put in bureaucratic charge of a programming team。 Thus， the stack of documents was work done by other programmers， which she had coordinated， not written by her at all。 A decent work effort， but nothing particularly notable， or superior to the work done by thousands of men working on Apollo。 Yet you can be sure that soon NASA will name buildings after her， schools will exalt her， and men will be told to know their place while the real geniuses of history are unveiled。The most expansive pack of such lies is that portrayed in the book and later movie "Hidden Figures" 。 。 。 [review completes as first comment]。 。。。more
John Bailey
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TLDR: a good exposition on Von Neumann’s works and those derived from him， perhaps a bit lacking on his personal life in the middle years and his death。 Read if you are interested in JVN/how he directed some of the most powerful ideas in 20th century maths， physics， computer science， economics。If you study anything in engineering or the sciences， you’ve probably benefitted from ideas derived from John Avon Neumann。 I’ve always been a huge fan， but only after finishing Bhattacharya’s “The Man fro TLDR: a good exposition on Von Neumann’s works and those derived from him， perhaps a bit lacking on his personal life in the middle years and his death。 Read if you are interested in JVN/how he directed some of the most powerful ideas in 20th century maths， physics， computer science， economics。If you study anything in engineering or the sciences， you’ve probably benefitted from ideas derived from John Avon Neumann。 I’ve always been a huge fan， but only after finishing Bhattacharya’s “The Man from the Future” do I have a decent grasp in the depth and breadth of his intellectual progeny。The book is well written， distilling complex ideas into digestible takeaways for the layperson and student alike （the author’s PhD in physics undoubtably helps）。 For instance， the use of Fixed Point Theorems （principally in Von Neumann’s works on Game Theory） were completely new to me， but were explained well by the author。 Overall， the book was a pleasure to read， although I do find it lacking in more personal details on Johnny’s life。 I would be reading for a dozen or so pages on self replicating systems or the RAND corp and forget I was reading a biography。 While the offshoots of John Von Neumann’s intellect are fascinating and important for analyzing his legacy， I would’ve liked to understand the man behind more than just the disciplines he pushed forwards。 His marriage with Klari was fairly well documented， but his cancer and subsequent passing were hastily covered and most of his personal life throughout the 40’s seemed to be glossed over。 More on his childhood （although comparatively harder to come across albeit） would’ve been good too （so I can raise my kids that way！）Would recommend。 。。。more
Ed
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Very understandable story of a gifted man， all the things he was into， and the geniuses he interacted with along the way。
Samuel
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An interesting biography because it is also a biography of everyone significant who drifted into the protagonist's life。 At times the author possibly gets a little carried away in adulation of the man's talents， but generally the praise is warranted。 Really the best bits are the anecdotes exposing von Neumann's incredible mental capacity。 An interesting biography because it is also a biography of everyone significant who drifted into the protagonist's life。 At times the author possibly gets a little carried away in adulation of the man's talents， but generally the praise is warranted。 Really the best bits are the anecdotes exposing von Neumann's incredible mental capacity。 。。。more
Nelson Zagalo
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Ao chegar ao fim de "The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann" （2021）， e tendo em conta a enorme particularidade do intelecto de Von Neumann — aos 6 conseguia fazer divisões com 8 dígitos de cabeça e conversar em grego antigo e latim， aos 8 trabalhava com cálculo diferencial e integral e falava Francês， Inglês e Alemão além do Húngaro， no entretanto leu uma história mundial em 45 volumes e conseguia recitar capítulos inteiros décadas mais tarde —， não consigo deixar de pen Ao chegar ao fim de "The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann" （2021）， e tendo em conta a enorme particularidade do intelecto de Von Neumann — aos 6 conseguia fazer divisões com 8 dígitos de cabeça e conversar em grego antigo e latim， aos 8 trabalhava com cálculo diferencial e integral e falava Francês， Inglês e Alemão além do Húngaro， no entretanto leu uma história mundial em 45 volumes e conseguia recitar capítulos inteiros décadas mais tarde —， não consigo deixar de pensar que por mais que endeusemos alguns humanos em particular pelos seus aparentes enormes feitos， o certo de tudo é que estes nada fizeram sozinhos。 Ananyo Bhattacharya esquiva-se a falar da pessoa de Von Neumann， centrando-se exclusivamente sobre os seus contributos teóricos。 Para esse efeito， trabalha os contributos de Von Neumann para as múltiplas ciências — mecânica quântica， teoria dos jogos， implosão nuclear， arquitetura de computadores e a teoria dos autómatos—， e como esses conduziram no futuro outros a saltos aplicados na história da ciência e tecnologia do século XX。 Deste modo Bhattacharya espera demonstrar que Von Neumann previa ou viajava no futuro， contudo， Bhattacharya esquece-se de fazer o mesmo trabalho olhando para o passado， e mais em particular para o lado。 Sendo o trabalho de Von Neumann de grande valor， ele não teria existido sem todas as restantes mentes brilhantes com quem se cruzou， de Claude Shannon a Alan Turing， de Einstein a Kurt Gödel， de Erwin Schrödinger a Werner Heisenberg。 Este endeusamento pela abstração de ideias pode ser interessante para os colegas das ciências duras， mas eu senti imensa falta do factor humano。 Gostaria de ter aprendido mais sobre a pessoa por detrás do modelo usado por Stanley Kubrick para criar Dr。 Strangelove， não só pelas profundas contradições morais da sua pessoa， mas também para compreender melhor a base dos seus processos criativos。Publicado no VI:https://virtual-illusion。blogspot。com。。。 。。。more
djcb
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Can't beat this review。。。Overall， I liked the book， which describes the life & times of von Neumann， who must be one of the very smartest people of the 20th century。 His background of growing up in Budapest， migration to the US， all the while making major contributions to mathematics， physics and even economics （game theory）; culminating in his work on the atom bomb。 The book is full of anecdotes about the wunderkind （a bit too much， esp。 at beginning I'd say）， and there's quite a bit of discuss Can't beat this review。。。Overall， I liked the book， which describes the life & times of von Neumann， who must be one of the very smartest people of the 20th century。 His background of growing up in Budapest， migration to the US， all the while making major contributions to mathematics， physics and even economics （game theory）; culminating in his work on the atom bomb。 The book is full of anecdotes about the wunderkind （a bit too much， esp。 at beginning I'd say）， and there's quite a bit of discussion of the further development of some von Neumann's ideas by other folks。Overall， I found interesting/fascinating， but a bit superficial。 。。。more
Swhite
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