John von Neumann

John von Neumann (Neumann J‡nos) (December 28, 1903 - February 8, 1957) was
a Hungarian-American mathematician who made important contributions in
quantum physics, set theory, computer science, economics and virtually all
mathematical fields. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the
University of Budapest at the age of 23.

He was one of four people selected for first faculty of the Institute for
Advanced Study. He worked on the Manhattan Project.

He was the father of game theory and published the classic book Theory of
Games and Economic Behavior with Oskar Morgenstern in 1944. He conceived the
concept of "MAD" (mutually assured destruction), which dominated American
nuclear strategy in the post-war era.

Von Neumann dashed all hope of developing a deterministic quantum mechanics
until his work was overturned by David Bohm, J.S. Bell, and others. He held
a strong belief in the role of the observer in creating the collapse of the
quantum wave function.

Von Neumann devised the von Neumann architecture used in all
non-parallel-processing computers. Virtually every commercially available
home computer, microcomputer and supercomputer is a von Neumann machine. He
created the field of cellular automata without computers, constructing the
first examples of self-replicating automata with pencil and graph paper. The
term von Neumann machine also refers to self-replicating machines. Von
Neumann proved that the most effective way large-scale mining operations
such as mining an entire moon or asteroid belt can be accomplished is
through the use of self-replicating machines, to take advantage of the
exponential growth of such mechanisms.

He also engaged in exploration of problems in these fields:

   * numerical hydrodynamics.

Von Neumann had a mind of great ingenuity and near total recall. He was an
extrovert who loved drinking, dancing and having a good time. He had a
fun-loving nature with a great love of jokes and humor.

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