Polymath Profile #2: John Von Neumann
When it launched in 1942, the Manhattan Project became the epicenter for some of history’s greatest minds — Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Vannevar Bush among them. All these individuals were portrayed in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning production Oppenheimer. Despite the film’s greatness, it failed to mention one valuable individual — John Von Neumann.
Is it possible Nolan intentionally excluded him from the film? I’d argue it is since Von Neumann’s development of explosive lenses and mathematical modeling of explosions contributed immensely to the project’s success. We can speculate, but perhaps it was because Von Neumann’s legacy, as we’ll learn in this piece, expanded far outside this single effort and it’d warrant a film of it’s own.
John Von Neumann — The Child Prodigy
Born Neumann János Lajos in 1903, John Von Neumann’s story begins as that of a child prodigy. By age six, he could speak Ancient Greek fluently and mentally multiply two eight-digit numbers. By eight, he’d taught himself calculus. Despite his mathematical prowess, his father, a reputable investment banker in Budapest, attempted to steer his son into chemical engineering given mathematics’ lack of earning potential.
Von Neumann would fulfill his father’s wishes by graduating Summa Cum Laude from the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich with a degree in Chemical Engineering. And because he didn’t want to waste his mathematical prowess, he also pursued his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Budapest. He completed both degrees in 1926 at the ripe age of 23. At the equally ripe age of 25, he became the University of Berlin’s youngest ever teaching professor.
John Von Neumann — The Technologist
His activity in European academia eventually led Von Neumann to accept a position at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, NJ in 1933. It was at this institution his previous work in computer science, fluid dynamics, and quantum mechanics would position him to join the Manhattan Project in 1942. There, his authority on mathematical modeling of explosions and his development of explosive lenses proved invaluable: the latter necessary to compress the nuclear material into the bomb’s core.
Outside the Manhattan Project, Von Neumann’s most notable technological contributions included the application of cellular automata in computer coding, the first climate modeling software, and the eponymous Von Neumann computer architecture. He was also the first to propose the concept of technological singularity, a hypothetical time in the future when the intelligence of computers will surpass that of humans. In other words, he started the artificial intelligence conversation.
John Von Neumann — The Mathematician
Mathematics ignited Von Neumann’s curiosity as a child and lead him to make several significant contributions to the field as an adult. Besides formulating the mathematical basis for quantum mechanics, he also founded Game Theory. Those with economics majors know Game Theory well. For those who do not, Game Theory is the math underpinning human decision-making.
Equally significant was his assistance in the development of the Monte Carlo Simulation, a statistical process for predicting uncertain events dependent on a large number of variables. Examples of its use include modeling business projections, casino game outcomes (hence the term), engineering failure analysis, and social simulations.
The Last Polymath?
As with all geniuses, Von Neumann had his quirks. Contrary to what we previously discussed about the power of silence, he performed his best work in noisy environments. At Princeton, he enjoyed playing German marching music while working, and when he went home he’d often work in the living room while his wife watched T.V.
Regarding his internal eccentricities, he constantly theorized about the parity between computers and the human brain, a topic especially relevant amongst today’s wave of artificial intelligence. When he was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer in 1955, his internal religious conflicts would undo him, and he’d pass away in 1957 unable to reconcile his mortality.
In August 2018, Sotheby’s published an article titled “John Von Neumann, the Last Great Polymath”. In the same breath, The Atlantic published a similar biographical article in November 2023 titled “The Smartest Man Who Ever Lived”. It doesn’t take much effort to assign him such labels.
Discipline as a Catalyst for Overachievement
However, the most impressive part of Von Neumann’s story is not his mathematic, scientific, or technological achievements, but his persistence in pursuing his true passion for mathematics while simultaneously dedicating himself to an equally challenging and more conventional engineering path.
He didn’t fight his father’s recommendation to pursue chemical engineering when he was young. Instead, he dedicated himself to both fields with equal ferocity. And because of that, he excelled in both and was able to combine them into the emerging field of computer science for which he is most famous. His life is a fantastic lesson in curiosity, discipline, and resourcefulness.
Be more.
Become polymathic.
Quote of the Week: “There’s no sense in being precise when you don’t even know what you’re talking about.” — John Von Neumann
Additional Information : John Von Neumann Polymath Profile — Becoming Polymathic Instagram Page
