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The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann
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About This Book
An electrifying biography of one of the most extraordinary scientists of the twentieth century and the world he made. The smartphones in our pockets and computers like brains. The vagaries of game theory and evolutionary biology. Nuclear weapons and self-replicating spacecrafts. All bear the fingerprints of one remarkable, yet largely overlooked, 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. A child prodigy, he mastered calculus by the age of eight, and in high school made lasting contributions to mathematics. In Germany, where he helped lay the foundations of quantum mechanics, and later at Princeton, von Neumann's colleagues believed he had the fastest brain on the planet―bar none. He was instrumental in the Manhattan Project and the design of the atom bomb; he helped formulate the bedrock of Cold War geopolitics and modern economic theory; he created the first ever programmable digital computer; he prophesized the potential of nanotechnology; and, from his deathbed, he 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 a stunningly diverse array of fields, sparking revolutions wherever he went. The Man from the Future is an insightful and thrilling intellectual biography of the visionary thinker who shaped our century. 12 illustrations
Reviews
"Bhattacharya shows that von Neumann's national security work was just a part of his scientific contributions that have more broadly shaped the world we live in ..."
"He recruits every ounce of your attention: Quantum physics, nuclear bomb-making, and computer architecture are all gnarly subjects."
"But The Man From the Future sometimes seems so focused on explicating that future — narrating the fates of von Neumann's ideas long past his death, from cancer, in 1957 — that the man himself recedes from view ..."
"A salient portrait of one of the most electrifying and productive scientists of the past century."
"Those with a strong grounding in the material will be entranced, though it's likely too daunting for more casual readers."
"The Man From the Future is an apt title for Ananyo Bhattacharya's brisk exploration of the products of this astonishingly fruitful mind, and where his glittering array of contributions to such diverse fields have taken us since ..."
"Bhattacharya tells the story tremendously well, situating von Neumann's work — in fields from quantum mechanics to game theory to cellular automata — as comfortably as I've ever seen it done."
"Unfortunately, each is made no less complex, and much less fascinating, by Ananyo Bhattacharya's laborious approach, which gives the general reader little insight into the theories and scarcely any into the man."
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