John von Neumann

1. John von Neumann “If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is.”

2. Who is John von Neumann? • Hungarian Mathematician, economist, and scientist • Born in Austria-Hungary in 1903 • Immigrated to the US after his dad died in 1930 where he worked as a professor at Princeton • Married twice and had one child (University of Michigan professor) • Died of cancer from exposure to Atomic Bombs in 1957

3. Major Accomplishments Two men operating EDVAC Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer • Nuclear weapon consulting at Los Alamos • Developed a computer to test reactions of atomic bomb • Developed a computer that could better predict the weather • Won many awards for work with computer science, mathematics, and military advancement • Published over 150 papers and multiple books on the topics of game theory, mathematics, and physics. Photo found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDVAC

4. Important Publications • Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, 1944 • First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, 1945 • The Computer and the Brain, 1958 Photos found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Games_and_Economic_Behavior http://bookcoverarchive.com/book/the_computer_and_the_brain

5. Long Term Significance • Used computers and math as a means to solve problems • Ballistics, weather prediction, economy, military • Logically created a simple stored program concept • Made the wiring of a computer much more simple and the language more complex The Central Arithmetical unit (CA), the Central Control unit (CU), the Memory (M), and the Input/Output devices (IO).

6. Relevance to Education • Much of von Neumann’s work is issued today in the types of computers that students use. • Calculators • Storage of memory • Computer’s architecture • Applications of problem solving • Cellular automata

7. Personality • Von Neumann shared his ideas with everyone including competitors. He just wanted to spread the knowledge. This is very much what the web 2.0 world is like. • Was constantly moving from the East to the West depending on what projects there were. Showing his passion for what he was learning about. Photo found at: http://www2.lv.psu.edu/OJJ/courses/ist-240/reports/spring2001/fa-cb-bc-kf/1941-1950.html

8. Glossary • Game Theory- an area of mathematics that deals with mathematical strategies in competitive situations. • Von Neumann System- simple system for storage of memory. • Quantum mechanics- branch of mechanics that describes the interaction and motion of particles • Hydrodynamics- forces acting on and exerted by liquids • Set theory- mathematical term that describes properties of numbers belonging to sets • ENIAC-Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, the first general purpose electric computer used to solve problems. • EDVAC Project- Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer, early computer project that used binary instead of decimals like the ENIAC • Universal constructor- a hypothesized machine that could self-replicate and create environments • cellular automata- set of simple mathematical rules that can create a model by following rules

9. Questions for John von Neumann • What is the benefit of the simple architecture? • How did he jump from one subject area to the next and how were these transitions made? • Where did the ideas for the von Neumann System come from?

10. References • http://homepage.newschool.edu/het//profiles/neumann.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann • http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/von_neumann_john.html • http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/aasm/chapter5.htm • http://w3.salemstate.edu/~tevans/VonNeuma.htm#Von_Neumann_Architecture • http://www.virtualtravelog.net/entries/2003-08-TheFirstDraft.pdf • http://www2.lv.psu.edu/OJJ/courses/ist-240/reports/spring2001/fa-cb-bc-kf/1941-1950.html