Name: The computer from Pascal to von Neumann
ISBN: 9781283100304

The computer from Pascal to von Neumann

In 1942, Lt. Herman H. Goldstine, a former mathematics professor, was stationed at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. It was there that he assisted in the creation of the ENIAC, the first electronic digital computer. The ENIAC was operational in 1945, but plans for a new computer were already underway. The principal source of ideas for the new computer was John von Neumann, who became Goldstine's chief collaborator. Together they developed EDVAC, successor to ENIAC. After World War II, at the Institute for Advanced Study, they built what was to become the prototype of the present-day computer. Herman Goldstine writes as both historian and scientist in this first examination of the development of computing machinery, from the seventeenth century through the early 1950s. His personal involvement lends a special authenticity to his narrative, as he sprinkles anecdotes and stories liberally through his text.

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cafardNov 2024

The Computer from Pascal to Von Neumann by Herman Goldstine.

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zeteoApr 2024

Goldstine also wrote a very interesting book called "The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann" that chronicles some of his experiences and also shows the depth of his research trying to draw inspiration from earlier calculating machines.

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bookofjoeJun 2023

https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/47416/was-john-...

>From Wikipedia's article on Eidetic memory's prevalence:

According to Herman Goldstine, the mathematician John von Neumann was able to recall from memory every book he had ever read. [15]

Referring to Page 167 of Goldstine's The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann

As far as I could tell, von Neumann was able on once reading a book or article to quote it back verbatim; moreover he could do it years later without hesitation.

He then goes on with a story about him challenging von Neumann to tell how a particular book's first chapter started with and JVN being able to recite it flawlessly.

The same section of the Wikipedia article starts with the following sentence

Eidetic memory is typically found only in young children, as it is virtually nonexistent in adults

Now , extraordinary does little favor in describing von Neumann's mental capabilities and scientific contributions but I think Goldstine's claims are bold even for someone like him. There are many more anecdotes about his abilities and, indeed, there are people who have savant skills, however even the ones who have had those skills "over-developed" performed significantly below average in other cognitive tasks. That makes the story about Von Neumann even less plausible, considering he was a polymath.

Finding a source disputing Goldstine's claims about von Neumann is obviously not the answer one should be looking for however it would be interesting to discuss, from a neuroscientific point of view, if it's really probable that the human brain can store such large amounts of information.

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mjreacherJun 2022

Yes definitely, but I feel that the mindset is to make a lasting contributions, something significant enough that it would remain important even one hundred years into the future. For example von Neumann had incredible respect for Kurt Gödel and said his incompleteness theorems were a "landmark in space and time", he wanted to make discoveries on that tier, and I am not sure he felt he did. Of course the way technology and computers panned out he ended up being more famous than basically any other mathematician for his role there, but obviously he couldn't have known that at the time. I would also add getting rid of bullshit jobs to the adjustments that you have listed as examples.

Most biographies of him strangely enough don't really go into too much detail on his work at the AEC, perhaps because there's already so much to talk about but also perhaps because a lot of this stuff was classified. It doesn't help either that the earliest biographies were only written more than 20 years after he died, and back in his lifetime in the first half of the 20th century not as much was written down as these days. I am assuming you are talking about his life in the 1940s and 1950s when you say "this portion of his life" so I'll give recommendations based off that. All the main biographies generally cover it but I'll give a few notes to help you make a decision. Not in any particular order.

- The Martian's Daughter: A Memoir

His daughter's autobiography, first part of the book talks about their relationship and given she was born in 1935 most of it covers the last parts of his life.

- John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener: From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death

This is the first biography by Heims; goes more into detail about their war work but I would point out though that Heims pretty clearly aims to denigrate von Neumann as a war hawk, none of the quotes are false or anything like that but when the book first came out several of von Neumann's colleagues criticized the book for trying to character assassinate him.

- The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann

Goldstine talks about the history of the computer but about two-thirds of the book covers work von Neumann and him both did together and there is plenty of biographical material on von Neumann. Obviously more focused on computers though.

- John von Neumann and the Origins of Modern Computing

Unlike Goldstine's book this is a biography von Neumann, however unlike Goldstine Aspray didn't know von Neumann as a close collaborator. Like Goldstine's it also focuses more on computing, not as much Goldstine however a lot of von Neumann's automata work is tied up with computers so it's a good read regardless.

- Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb

This book focuses more on game theory with less biographical material on von Neumann, however it does have a dedicated chapter to his last years and what he was doing then.

- John von Neumann: The Scientific Genius Who Pioneered the Modern Computer, Game Theory, Nuclear Deterrence, and Much More

This is probably the biggest biography, it is very even describing each stage of von Neumann's life. It is a bit more of a hero worship compared the other books which you'll notice if read the reviews of the book. Less technical compared to the others too.

- The World as a Mathematical Game: John Von Neumann and Twentieth Century Science

This one tries to evaluate von Neumann's contributions to 20th century science overall, as it was written in 2009 it does source to the previous books quite a bit. Shorter compared to the others.

- The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann

This one was only released this year, it's a biography but it kind of tries to describe the world around von Neumann at his time and how he fits into it. Obviously by now almost everyone who knew him personally aside from his daughter and a handful of others are dead so it focuses more on his technical contributions rather than anecdotes on his influence.

- Turing's Cathedral: the Origins of the Digital Universe

This one is also more focused on computing, has some things that aren't written in the others as Dyson did a particularly good job going through some of the archives, but not as much focused on von Neumann compared to the others.

- A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon

Isn't a biography of von Neumann but of Schriever, who worked with von Neumann to setup the first ICBM programs in the USA. Obviously the main focus here is on the military and political side of von Neumann's work in the 1940s and 50s, and not much else in terms of his life. However contains lots of information on this particular part of his life that other books lack.

If you look at the "Further Reading" section of his Wikipedia page there is a long list of books that feature him heavily in case you want more. Happy reading!

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