Genius Edward Teller Describes 1950s Genius John Von Neumann

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  • čas přidán 16. 09. 2013
  • I was a young filmmaker doing assistant editing & assistant camera on this incredible film. Why do I say incredible? Because it is recording a moment in time when the people who appear in it had a sense of what computers would do. I posted the full documentary because many of my subscribers have asked me to do so. Please allow the ads to run if you can tolerate them.
    This is a clip that was taken from the film which was made in 1966 with a grant from the Mathematics Association of America. John von Neumann was the greatest mathematician of the 20th century. He contributed so much to physics, mathematics, chemistry, geometry and the evolution of the computer. His work included including the creation of Game Theory, Quantum Mechanics, the development of nuclear power and the very earliest computer programming and robotics.
    The documentary presents lengthy dialogues with the 20th century's leading scientists including Edward Teller, Hans Bethe, Eugene Wigner, Paul Halmos, Herman Goldstine and Oskar Morgenstern.
    Von Neumann's work on the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics is considered a monumental achievement. And his work on the development of modern computer architecture, known as the von Neumann architecture and the stored-program concept has had a lasting impact on computer science and technology.
    Von Neumann was a Hungarian-American. He immigrated to the United States in the 1930s. He is famous for several key achievements including:
    Game theory: He co-authored a book titled "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior" (1944) that laid the foundation for modern game theory. The book applied mathematical principles to understand competitive situations and decision-making in economics, politics, and other fields.
    Quantum mechanics: Von Neumann made important contributions to the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, particularly through his work on the rigorous formulation of quantum mechanics using linear operators and Hilbert spaces.
    Computer science and architecture: Von Neumann played a crucial role in the development of computer science, especially through his work on the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) project. While working on the EDVAC project, he introduced the concept of a stored-program computer, where both data and instructions are stored in memory. This idea was a departure from the earlier designs where computers were programmed using hardware settings or physical wiring.
    Von Neumann's stored-program concept led to the development of high-level programming languages and software as we know them today. The idea enabled computers to be more easily reprogrammed for various tasks and allowed programmers to write code in a more human-readable format, which would then be translated into machine code that the computer could understand.
    Although von Neumann did not directly create any specific programming languages, his ideas on computer architecture and the stored-program concept laid the foundation for the subsequent development of programming languages and software. His influence is still felt in computer science and programming today.
    As I was crafting this description, I thought of my colleagues who work today in Cloud-based software architecture That refers to the design and organization of software systems that operate in a cloud computing environment. I asked one of them to tell me in relatively simple terms what that is and what it does. He wrote:
    In a cloud-based architecture, resources can be easily scaled up or down as required. This is especially important for handling varying loads of user requests.
    Cloud-based architectures are designed to be resilient to hardware/software failures and to continue to provide services even when certain components fail. Cloud-based architectures often involve a distributed system where various components of the software are located on different servers or even in different geographic locations.
    Many cloud architectures use a microservices approach, where the application is divided into smaller, independent services that communicate with each other.
    Cloud-based architectures involve large amounts of data, which need to be stored and managed effectively. This can involve databases, data warehouses and other data storage solutions.
    Given that data is being stored and transferred over the internet, cloud-based architectures need to prioritize security to protect sensitive information.
    I would like to thank some of the sponsors who place ads on this video. Cloud-based software architecture. Cloud server architecture. Computer network architecture courses. Mathematics. Computer science. ASU online computer science. Online computer science bachelors degree. Computer science degree online. Associates in computer technology. Cyberlink history.
    David Hoffman filmmaker
  • Krátké a kreslené filmy

Komentáře • 502

  • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
    @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Před rokem +67

    Here is the entire documentary - worth watching - czcams.com/video/q5SkVmZhnBw/video.html

    • @BuddyGorey
      @BuddyGorey Před 10 měsíci +3

      Damn, I love your work, first of all- but this is the only shady move I’ve ever noticed on your channel.
      If your role on this film was as an assistant editor and assistant camera operator, why on earth does the intro say it’s “your 1966 documentary on John von Neumann”? Who’s the filmmaker?
      You have a wealth of gorgeous material you’ve created over decades, I can’t fathom the desire, much less the need, to exaggerate your accomplishments by “forgetting” to credit your betters from back when you were a young buck just learning the ropes.
      Forgive me for being such a Pollyanna, somehow still deluded or optimistic enough to believe in the depth of character you seem to communicate in the rest of your work.

    • @liammcooper
      @liammcooper Před 10 měsíci

      awesomet tyvm

    • @paryanindoeur
      @paryanindoeur Před 9 měsíci

      I've been sometimes watching your videos for several years now, and am pleasantly surprised you have Edward Teller talking about intimate details about John Von Neumann! This is a rare, valuable film!

    • @user-jr3kb8qy8e
      @user-jr3kb8qy8e Před 8 měsíci

      NOT GENIUS.....JUST A BOLSHEVIK PROPAGANDA

    • @TheNavalAviator
      @TheNavalAviator Před měsícem

      Thanks David Hoffman! I remembered the video but I didn't know you posted it.

  • @GeoffryGifari
    @GeoffryGifari Před 9 měsíci +72

    von neumann deserves his own movie

    • @adamzamaroczy7865
      @adamzamaroczy7865 Před 9 měsíci

      Indeed.

    • @user-hu3iy9gz5j
      @user-hu3iy9gz5j Před 5 měsíci +2

      He deserves to be spared

    • @midorimashintaro2092
      @midorimashintaro2092 Před 3 měsíci

      ​@@user-hu3iy9gz5jknowing that people like you wont watch his movie spares him enough.

    • @user-hu3iy9gz5j
      @user-hu3iy9gz5j Před 3 měsíci

      @@midorimashintaro2092 I would like to watch it, Von Neumann is a fascinating character. My scepticism in regards to such a project derives in part from the notion that Personal portraits on Cinema are often heavily distorted and deceptive.
      Now, I might enjoy even a movie "based on true events" yet with little regard for the actualities concerning those events provided that the movie feautures a compelling narrative and a beautiful production, if, that is, the creators are frank and open about the artistic freedoms they have utilized. To give a second life to a historical event or person rather than to "realistically" portray that event or person

    • @midorimashintaro2092
      @midorimashintaro2092 Před 3 měsíci

      @@user-hu3iy9gz5j well that's what cinema is. It has to stay real to the source material but it also can't be a day to day re-enactment, nobody would watch that. Also, there's no one alive to determine as to what portrayal of von Neumann would be accurate, so there's no scenario in which you'd be satisfied.

  • @gastonsepulveda9187
    @gastonsepulveda9187 Před 5 měsíci +27

    Benny Safdie's accent as Teller (and performance, overall) was so spot on.

  • @MicahScottPnD
    @MicahScottPnD Před 10 měsíci +96

    "Original solutions in areas where most people did not even notice the problems" . . . An amazing statement!

  • @damien86
    @damien86 Před 9 měsíci +84

    Von Neumann was a child prodigy. When he was six years old, he could divide two eight-digit numbers in his head and could converse in Ancient Greek. When the six-year-old von Neumann caught his mother staring aimlessly, he asked her, "What are you calculating?"

  • @patur6735
    @patur6735 Před 8 měsíci +12

    His facial expression when he says von neumann has the same kind of relationship with all other humans as he has with his 3 year old son is extraordinary. Edward Teller was so intelligent he was considered a Martian. And he felt like a toddler next to him. Johnny must be from betelgeuse.

    • @EliasHasle
      @EliasHasle Před 5 měsíci

      That sadness of being degraded to a child... or was it him being touched by the thought of his benevolent "intellectual parent", and the sad look only due to the loss of him?

    • @monkeeseemonkeedoo3745
      @monkeeseemonkeedoo3745 Před 4 měsíci +1

      @@EliasHasle It isn't sadness for that, it isn't a matter of 'degrading'. These are after all some of the best scientists of the 20th century. I think the sadness is for his friend that passed, who admittedly was much sharper and quicker than he was, but who didn't hold that above people.

  • @HannibalLecter-hi4hh
    @HannibalLecter-hi4hh Před 9 měsíci +77

    That was the most heartfelt tribute I have ever heard. Von Neumann must have been a very gifted person and obviously very special to Teller.

    • @IordanIovkov
      @IordanIovkov Před 9 měsíci +11

      Von Neumann has an excellent shot at being the smartest human that we know of.

    • @Jearbearjenkins
      @Jearbearjenkins Před 9 měsíci +6

      @@IordanIovkovliterally. Maybe not in terms of pure intelligence inna concentrated field because that could still be newton or gauss. Or even einstein if you value intelligence and creative thinking. But in terms of just naturally being so intelligent that everything is automatically easy to you: he’s really probably the most intelligent human being ever. The only guy who comes close in terms of being a polymath is da vinci and I suspect he doesn’t stand a chance against johnny

    • @IordanIovkov
      @IordanIovkov Před 9 měsíci +2

      @@Jearbearjenkins It's difficult to compare to Da Vinci and I think at a certain level of brilliance it's silly to try and do a ranking with a number one, number two, etc. However, von Neumann is definitely way, way up there. In terms of brute force intelligence that had the perfect environment to develop (wealthy and supportive family, supportive institutions, an academic network to integrate in, a long, productive, successful life dedicated to science), I can't think of anyone else who was such a perfect storm of nurture and nature.

    • @patur6735
      @patur6735 Před 8 měsíci +6

      They were mates in high school already. And friends to the last day. Johnny was described as a vibrant personality, married twice, fast cars, hard liquor, he was even said to have annoyed einstein in the institute for advanced study when he played loud german marching music in the room above einstein 😂. I think Teller is so emotional because he had a very emotional, human connection to him. Johnny was just a bro with a supercomputer brain.

    • @armin3057
      @armin3057 Před 2 měsíci

      I think in terms of brain power John von Neumann is probably the biggest...however we dont know what Isaac newton could do with his Brain@@Jearbearjenkins

  • @danieljosephgarcia
    @danieljosephgarcia Před 9 měsíci +88

    It’s crazy to me that JVN, in the 1940s developed the framework for modern computing that still - almost 100 years later drives how we design computers. I remember being an undergraduate learning about Princeton (Van Neumann) architecture in an advanced computer engineering course nearly a century after he developed it. Absolutely insane.

  • @marsenbloss
    @marsenbloss Před 4 lety +337

    Got goose bumps as I was reading his biography. Too bad a large percentage of the population does not even have a clue who he was. Thank you for uploading this.

    • @grantjohnson6017
      @grantjohnson6017 Před 3 lety +15

      Thankfully he achieved what an army of 7 billion people never could

    • @georgenada8480
      @georgenada8480 Před 2 lety +3

      i have had a hard time finding stuff on him

    • @towerofresonance4877
      @towerofresonance4877 Před rokem

      Oh I have read up on him extensively and he happens to have the same birthday as Jordan Maxwell, in my opinion one of the greatest speakers today on corruption and any other subject that has to do with the government.

    • @Pi4Laminarflow
      @Pi4Laminarflow Před rokem

      I read 1/3 rd part of his biography.

    • @richerite
      @richerite Před 9 měsíci +2

      Any good biographies about Johnny?

  • @lippi2171
    @lippi2171 Před 9 měsíci +346

    As a Hungarian I feel bad that brilliant minds of the time like Leo Szilárd, Teller and von Neumann were never given the opportunity to make use of their talent at home.

    • @Csirkefoga
      @Csirkefoga Před 9 měsíci +25

      In fact most great Hungarians made it abroad, almost none of them at home. 😢

    • @joekochinski5591
      @joekochinski5591 Před 9 měsíci +26

      I find it so cool that a small country like Hungary produced so many absolute geniuses! I never realized this until I read The making of the atomic bomb. All Hungarians should be proud of these men! I often wonder how this happened, was it bcos of the times they grew up in, the schooling curriculum, or something else.

    • @lippi2171
      @lippi2171 Před 9 měsíci +26

      @@joekochinski5591 If I think about it, a lot of 20th century scientific breakthrough was achieved by a number of Hungarians (mostly Hungarian Jews) that lived in the same period and had similar heritage. Vitamin C (Szentgyörgyi), computer (Neumann), atomic bomb etc. Fascinating thing indeed! Unfortunately, as I said, Hungary didn't have the capacity to make them flourish as scientists. Teller remained a proud Hungarian though.

    • @zp5808
      @zp5808 Před 9 měsíci +10

      @@joekochinski5591 it was the end product of a great maths teacher, László Rátz. Great teachers will make great minds blossom.

    • @Csirkefoga
      @Csirkefoga Před 9 měsíci +16

      @@joekochinski5591 it's a combination of things. In 1867 Hungary passed a law that was the most progressive in Europe at the time regarding religious freedom. This attracted hundreds of thousands of jewish immigrants into the country from neighboring countries, mostly white collar workers.
      Education in the country was at a really high level, thanks to Kuno Klebersberg who reformed and modernised it. Espeically secondary education was really strong.
      The only way to achieve something in life for the middle class was/is through education and Hungary was pretty poor so people did their best.
      Unfortunately the country lost a lot of their great minds due to no/few opportunities (left the country) and the 2nd world war and the holocaust.

  • @AlexandraAndStuff
    @AlexandraAndStuff Před 9 měsíci +27

    I was always blown away by how many of our greatest minds shared their time in history. They knew each other. They changed the world together. After centuries of nothing, there were decades when centuries happend. Incredible to imagine.

    • @janosvas8597
      @janosvas8597 Před 9 měsíci +1

      I am thinking also about, what is/was the reason for such acceleration exactely in our days. How could explain this really causal?

    • @WinstonSmith0824
      @WinstonSmith0824 Před 9 měsíci

      ​​@@janosvas8597if I had to posit a guess, I'd say advances in communication and travel. High quality systems of mail and publication distribution combined with high speed rail allowed all these great minds to communicate with each other at record speeds, sharing knowledge and bouncing ideas of each other in something approaching real-time (at least as compared with most of history).
      Genius is often stereotyped as a solo activity, but all great thinkers in the recent centuries were highly collaborative. Individuals may have come up with original ideas, but the germs for those ideas were often the result of formal and informal discussion.
      I would guess that there have always been great minds cropping up throughout human history. It's just that the vast majority of them were peasants, farming to survive, isolated from other geniuses, living unmarked lives and dying anonymous. It's only when civilization reaches the point where professional researchers can exist and be able to pursue research (through a combination of mass education and social mobility) that genius can contribute as it has.

    • @viggosimonsen
      @viggosimonsen Před 9 měsíci +1

      No such geniuses also existed in previous centuries. I can name many, in these fields alone: Newton, Euler, Lagrange, Maxwell, Gauss, Galois - the list is long
      The wonder on the other hand is, that since this generation, there has hardly been anyone worth mentioning.
      Is the age of geniuses over - or is it only that they are never recognized during their times - but only afterwards?

    • @jaredf6205
      @jaredf6205 Před 9 měsíci +1

      All these scientists came to the US at the same time to escape the Nazis.

    • @user-hu3iy9gz5j
      @user-hu3iy9gz5j Před 5 měsíci

      The concentration and congregation of intellect had become much more feasible in the 20th century technological and globalized world than at earlier times. They knew each other, many of them met regularly and formed friendships, Germans, Hungarians, Englishmen, Austrians, Russians, Italians, Americans could assemble and be inspired and contribute to each other's work

  • @alexplotkin3368
    @alexplotkin3368 Před 9 měsíci +24

    Teller - To most people, thinking is painful. So damn true!

  • @imperialfreek
    @imperialfreek Před 10 lety +110

    While doing some research on Von Nuemann, I ran accross your clip.
    I am astounded at the way Teller speaks, and the dynamic way you presented this, Mr. Hoffman! The presentation is very unusual and intense!

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Před 10 lety +47

      Edward Teller was one of those people, like Henry Kissinger, who spoke unbelievably accurately and with great intensity. Regardless of whether you agree with his point of view, it was an amazing experience to be in his presence and hear the way he could think.
      David Hoffman-filmmaker

    • @HalfassDIY
      @HalfassDIY Před rokem +3

      @@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker sell me this documentary !

  • @mathandphysicsbooks1890
    @mathandphysicsbooks1890 Před 6 lety +68

    I read the wiki on von neumann and he's absolutely mind boggling

  • @neleknut2379
    @neleknut2379 Před 2 měsíci +2

    This is such a beautiful way of speaking only the older generation was capable of and everything he says sound so epic, so well laid out, that he can not just have made it up on the spot, the idea that van Neumann just liked thinking, waht a beatiful thought and that he might have considered the others just like children and the tragedy at the end of the speech. Just brilliant and it could be part of a great theater play.

  • @tomservo5007
    @tomservo5007 Před 9 měsíci +8

    John Von Neumann's digital computer design became the most popular in the world, I guarantee that you have more than one device using Von Neumann architecture, and yet there are very few video/photos of him

  • @andrewdewit4711
    @andrewdewit4711 Před 8 měsíci +3

    Teller gets derided as Dr Strangelove, but here shows sincere respect and empathy for Von Neumann.

  • @thomasclark631
    @thomasclark631 Před 8 měsíci +3

    Edward Teller authored a short but compelling text titled, The Pursuit of Simplicity. Worth the read.

  • @user-pi8hm3wf6n
    @user-pi8hm3wf6n Před 9 měsíci +4

    I read the wiki on von neumann and he's absolutely mind boggling. Teller - To most people, thinking is painful. So damn true!.

  • @ParallelNewsNetwork
    @ParallelNewsNetwork Před 9 měsíci +5

    Hellish ending to that monologue

  • @kawou4250
    @kawou4250 Před 3 lety +26

    Definitely the best applied mathematician, and one of the best pure mathematicians as far as I know.

  • @_indrid_cold_
    @_indrid_cold_ Před 9 měsíci

    Remarkable and precious footage. Thank you for sharing.

  • @christsciple
    @christsciple Před rokem +36

    He is my favorite physicist, right alongside Feynman! It's a shame there is so little about him in books, movies, or documentaries.

  • @marshmelows
    @marshmelows Před 8 měsíci +4

    The voice is extremely similar to the actor doing the movie.
    God I might watch it a third time...

  • @towerofresonance4877
    @towerofresonance4877 Před rokem +24

    It is strange that when Neumann was dying, he was still trying to argue just as when Einstein was dying, what did he do? He asked for some paper and a pen and to be able to do his mathematics until he took his last breath.

    • @WylderWatkins
      @WylderWatkins Před 7 měsíci

      Why is that strange? You're an idiot. I would bewilder you with how stupid I am.

  • @gaborszabo2232
    @gaborszabo2232 Před 4 lety +7

    Zseni a zseniről.! Büszkeséggel tölt el, hogy mindketten Magyarok voltak!

  • @IgorSavtchenko
    @IgorSavtchenko Před 10 lety +2

    Thank you for sharing this!

  • @briancase6180
    @briancase6180 Před 10 dny

    Thanks for bringing this to us again.

  • @Quantumfluxfield
    @Quantumfluxfield Před 3 lety +10

    Thanks for the video, what a collection you have, David! Neumann had a brain unlike anything we have ever seen, and probabaly will see

  • @johnjay6370
    @johnjay6370 Před 9 měsíci +1

    I can listen to him talk all day!!!

  • @revooshnoj4078
    @revooshnoj4078 Před 5 lety +17

    Truth has been told the key to genius is having the capability to enjoy thinking

  • @kokomanation
    @kokomanation Před 9 měsíci +5

    He was a genius in many different fields of science as far as I know.I mostly knew about his work in game theory and that he was integral of the MAD system.The mutual assured destruction system that still prevents human beings to initiate a nuclear attack.

  • @HisMajesty99
    @HisMajesty99 Před 2 lety +137

    It’s a tragedy that most people don’t even know about Jonn Von Neumann

    • @user-hy5vj3rg9e
      @user-hy5vj3rg9e Před 10 měsíci +2

      Why does it matter though ? knowing about him or not will make no difference to their life as these people aren't educated anyways .

    • @angusdog22
      @angusdog22 Před 9 měsíci +8

      I do and I’m just a lowly construction worker . But I’m kinda weird like that 😂

    • @HisMajesty99
      @HisMajesty99 Před 9 měsíci +18

      @@angusdog22 not lowly at all my friend, you help build society, literally. Appreciate your work! :)

    • @laxman90210
      @laxman90210 Před 9 měsíci +5

      He is well-known in computer science

    • @AdrianBoyko
      @AdrianBoyko Před 9 měsíci +5

      Trump has said, many times, that Von Neumann is one of his heroes.

  • @jamespowell5602
    @jamespowell5602 Před 10 lety +8

    Excellent video!

  • @richitrie
    @richitrie Před 9 měsíci +1

    What an awesome performed tribute 😎👍

  • @robertschlesinger1342
    @robertschlesinger1342 Před 3 lety +2

    Interesting and worthwhile video.

  • @hopliterati61
    @hopliterati61 Před 10 měsíci +14

    It's crazy to think that the time of von Neumann to today is less than one person's lifetime ... one lifetime for the rise and dominance of the "digital brain" and its massive effect on humanity's path.

  • @SR71YF12
    @SR71YF12 Před 11 měsíci +31

    This is a gem. I feel the same awe for the logical and mathematical abilities of Von Neumann as I feel for the musical abilities of Glenn Gould. Both men were so brilliant at what they did that people who witnessed them in action (including their colleagues) found it hard to believe that they were witnessing a human being. Von Neumann reportedly had a photographic memory and could recall entire books word for word even years later, which no doubt helped him to think as fast as he did. Gould was also said to possess a photographic memory, and he had perfect pitch. His capacity to remember long musical pieces for many years is legendary. For example, he played Beethoven's Emperor Concerto on very short notice (substituting for Michelangeli who cancelled his performance), not having played it for several years. Both men were child prodigies, even though Gould did not see himself as a child prodigy (probably a reflection of his contrarian streak).

  • @koljarzg
    @koljarzg Před 5 lety +40

    Nothing but the respect for the man, but also for Peter Sellers for stealing Dr. Teller's persona for Dr. Strangelove.

    • @nathanashley2693
      @nathanashley2693 Před 4 lety +1

      hahaha i was wondering the same thing myself. surely the bad guy is suppose to be von braun even if he looks and sounds like teller

  • @Pau11Wa11
    @Pau11Wa11 Před 4 měsíci +1

    Sounds like John was an incredible person. It’s sad to hear how difficult it got in his last years. It reminds me of H. L. Mencken.
    He suffered a stroke that left him aware and fully conscious but nearly unable to read or write and able to speak only with some considerable difficulty. After his stroke, Mencken enjoyed listening to classical music and, after some recovery of his ability to speak, talking with friends, but he sometimes referred to himself in the past tense, as if he were already dead. His dear friend/biographer William Manchester read to him daily the last year he passed.

  • @MrChimei
    @MrChimei Před 10 lety +14

    If this film was available in a downloadable format for a reasonable price (ie not 80 dollars...) I would buy it and recommend it to several friends in a heartbeat.

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Před 10 lety +3

      MrChimei: It will not be downloadable for quite a while. Right now, it is primarily being purchased by schools and libraries. Thank you For checking in on it.
      David Hoffman-filmmaker

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Před 2 lety

      @@SP-fy7oc no. sorry.
      David Hoffman Filmmaker

    • @paulpaech
      @paulpaech Před 2 lety

      I too would enjoy watching the entire video. Both DVD format & $80 price-ticket seem to unnecessarily restrict access to Johnny's insights. I'd be surprised if you couldnt get it onto a pay-per-view streaming service somewhere, and make a decent return.
      Just a thought LOL

  • @DavidVonR
    @DavidVonR Před 9 lety +129

    The notion that von Neumann enjoyed nothing else but thinking doesn't square with other descriptions of him. Biographers described von Neumann as someone who loved drinking, dancing, driving recklessly, telling jokes and having a good time. In fact, he proposed to his first wife by expressing to her that "you and I could have some fun together, seeing as we both like to drink".

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Před 9 lety +52

      My film was made 49 years ago. I believe it was the accurate perception of Edward Teller at that time. Although biographers I suspect wrote long after these interviews were made.
      David Hoffman-filmmaker

    • @nonconsensualopinion
      @nonconsensualopinion Před 5 lety +10

      He said practically nothing else. Not nothing else at all.

    • @tamarakiss5943
      @tamarakiss5943 Před 4 lety +33

      I’m sorry to interrupt this course of thinking. But i study at the same institution as Neumann who was originally Hungarian. His way of thinking is Hungarian, and his mother tongue is Hungarian. He learnt the fundaments of math in Hungarian which determined his way of thinking on a fundamental level. Our language is considered as one of the oldest, an entirely based on agglutination = building strucktures brick by brick. We are historically known for being outgoing and party people. It’s so deep in our heart and culture that i strongly suspect Neumann kinda belittled Einstein and others for being stereotypical nerd guys/scientsts. The stories of his weird driving habits are also true, as he had a good sense of humour. Let’s not forget there were way less cars on the road and traffic was way slower. Therefore for his quick brain paying attention to the road felt ineffective. I’ve read a story about him where he participated in a conference where he took a(n impossible) challenge to drink vodka as fast as a russian colleague. They were discussing some theorems and at one point of the evening Neumann politely interrupted saying he’d gone to the restroom. There he threw up all the vodka and returned to discuss the problem vithout interruption.(I study automotive engineering). Our education is based on the prussian system (I also have prussian elders), and the vodka story is so typical here, it kinda happens every day. We do heavy drinking, but it’s not allowed to interrupt work, so students come to class in complete hungover and perform one way or another. My uni has 3 nobel laureates and countless other contributions so I’m kinda proud to be there. And i don’t like him being called Von cause the germans shouldn’t get all the credits, and von is a word for noble people. Neumann’s family wasn’t novelty in Hungary.

    • @TheBlackManMythLegend
      @TheBlackManMythLegend Před 4 lety +3

      Thanks tamara

    • @SemtexEngineer
      @SemtexEngineer Před 4 lety +29

      @@tamarakiss5943 If you are so sensitive about credits and doing a nationalist rhetoric, why not tell the whole truth?
      Von Neumann was not Hungarian, he was Jewish! Born in the wealthy family of a banker! Of course he was a Hungarian citizen but NEVER HAD Hungarian origins. He studied chemical engineering, first some non-degree courses in Berlin, then he entered ETH Zurich. In the same time he also got admitted for a Phd. in mathematics in Budapest, but as Eugene Wigner wrote "Evidently a Ph.D. thesis and examination did not constitute an appreciable effort". He then continued his studies to University of Göttingen. So, except junior school and high school, not much time spend studying in Hungary ....
      The "von" was given to his father by Emperor Franz-Joseph for his services to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, initially "de Margitta", a title in the Hungarian nobility. He later changed it to "von Neumann", it was his choice, either you like it or not!
      Hungary has a lot of Nobel Prize laureates to take credit for. But I think John von Neumann, Eugene Wigner, Edward Teller should not be among them. They were all, as probably 80% of the Nobel Prize Laureates for science, Jewish.

  • @karlmoody4891
    @karlmoody4891 Před 9 měsíci +7

    It is worth nothing that during the Manhattan project it was von Neumann who came up with the mathematical solution to the problem of the implosion-type device using plutonium. Von Neumann is quite an elusive figure for some reason, even though many think that he might have been the greatest mind of all time, however loose that term might be.

  • @mosespray4510
    @mosespray4510 Před 9 měsíci +1

    The man really had presence. He starts slowly and quietly and builds to an earthquake.

  • @6c45pi
    @6c45pi Před 10 lety +5

    I just bought this. Thank you.

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Před 10 lety +1

      And thank you. I do hope that you find it of interest. made 48! years ago.
      David Hoffman - filmmaker

  • @franciscolaureano7703
    @franciscolaureano7703 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Brilliant insight

  • @chrisschaefer3863
    @chrisschaefer3863 Před 9 měsíci +9

    Wow, Peter Sellers really nailed this.

    • @jamesrav
      @jamesrav Před 9 měsíci +1

      he must have studied this interview, its uncanny. Sellers exaggerated it of course, but its Teller all the way. I wonder what Teller thought when he saw the movie, either total fury or "this Strangelove guy has some good ideas".

  • @CrustyAbsconder
    @CrustyAbsconder Před 8 měsíci

    That is steady camera-work for a hand-held. I imagine the camera-guy knew this video would be important historically, and
    he was doing his best to hold it steady.

    • @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker
      @DavidHoffmanFilmmaker  Před 8 měsíci +1

      Thank you. I did use a camera brace that it was handheld.
      David Hoffman filmmaker

  • @FormerHumanX
    @FormerHumanX Před 9 měsíci +19

    Von Neumann's contemporaries considered him the smartest person alive and one of the smartest in history, even well beyond Einstein.

    • @thewalkingjoke3843
      @thewalkingjoke3843 Před 9 měsíci +8

      If you gave Einstein and Von Neumann a test of increasingly difficult questions, I have no doubt that Von Neumann would be far quicker at each question up to a certain level of difficulty. At that point, Einstein would be increasingly faster relative to Von Neumann at each question untill Von Neumann no longer would be able to answer the question at all. Einstein would be able to go much deeper.
      Both these aspects are part of intelligence, but to me the understanding part where Einstein had a clear edge, is the most important aspect of actual intellectual ability.

    • @EGarrett01
      @EGarrett01 Před 9 měsíci +2

      Here's a quote from Eugene Wigner that compares the two:
      "Einstein was far slower than Jancsi von Neumann to derive mathematical identities. His memory could be faulty, at least after 1933. And he was hardly interested in the details of physics. For a man like Edward Teller, developing the details of a physics problem was passionately important. For Einstein, it was not. In all spheres of life, Einstein's greatest pleasure was in finding, and later expressing, basic principles. But Einstein's understanding was deeper than even Jancsi von Neumann's. His mind was both more penetrating and more original than von Neumann's. And that is a very remarkable statement. Einstein took an extraordinary pleasure in invention. Two of his greatest inventions are the Special and General Theories of Relativity; and for all of Jancsi's brilliance, he never produced anything so original. No modern physicist has."

    • @brucewayne2480
      @brucewayne2480 Před 8 měsíci

      Why comparing them ?
      Einstein was a genius too by answering child questions with an adult brain. His creativity is out of this world to imagine such theories especially the general relativity

    • @EGarrett01
      @EGarrett01 Před 8 měsíci +1

      @@brucewayne2480The fact that everyone wants to compare person X of the time to Einstein and claim they were smarter kind of shows you that Einstein was the man. None of them actually were.

  • @jsardi56
    @jsardi56 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Tragic, he died so young. Imagine the breakthroughs he might have achieved!

  • @noelwoodward7692
    @noelwoodward7692 Před 9 měsíci

    Benjamin Labatut returns with Maniac later this year - a book about John von Neumann

  • @haimbenavraham1502
    @haimbenavraham1502 Před 2 lety +4

    Very sad that he departed the world like this, and too early.

  • @geraldking4080
    @geraldking4080 Před 10 měsíci +2

    The lost outtakes from Dr. Strangelove.... "The mine shaft gap."

  • @F_Tim1961
    @F_Tim1961 Před rokem +5

    I believe that V Neumann worked out / developed the 2/s complement of binary number theory. This reduces subtraction to an addition. It vastly simplifies the architecture of a ALU of a computer as you don't have to treat subtraction separately and you don't have to do carries to the right . TEF.

    • @DavidVonR
      @DavidVonR Před 11 měsíci

      von Neumann didn't develop the two's complement method, rather he suggested that it be used for the ENIAC/EDVAC.

    • @F_Tim1961
      @F_Tim1961 Před 11 měsíci +1

      @@DavidVonR Yes you are correct. What is strange about this is that two's complement is associated with binary devices like digital computers . However according to the Wiki entry, some mechanical calculating machines used 2's complement theory for their subtractions. I'm amazed by that. This suggests that the person who developed 2's c theory is unknown but perhaps developed the concept in the 1920s or thirties when serious calculators started to be developed. What this suggests is such calculators had a binary to decimal conversion module implemented mechanically. TEF

  • @felixlucanus7922
    @felixlucanus7922 Před 9 měsíci +1

    We watch this on a hand held Von Neumann Machine.

  • @Jonathan-ru9zl
    @Jonathan-ru9zl Před 9 měsíci

    Hi thanks fir the interesting video. Can someone give transcript of the audio?

  • @adamweitzman3212
    @adamweitzman3212 Před 3 lety +10

    Hi David. This footage is so amazing, I cant believe it. I represent a small chip manufacturing company, we want to create an educational video about Von Neumann Architecture and its relevance in the 21st century . Will it be possible to use some of your footage? we will credit you, your work and anything you would like.

  • @diegovasquez840
    @diegovasquez840 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Von Neumann was so quick that it sometimes became a weakness. It prevented the kind of penetrating thinking that Einstein used to revolutionize physics. Von Neumann himself wished he had that gift. That’s why a team of scientists is the most effective.

  • @kxkxkxkx
    @kxkxkxkx Před 9 měsíci +2

    Master Mentat On Chief Mentant 😇 wow!

  • @koczeka
    @koczeka Před 9 měsíci +1

    Fermi and Jenő Wigner said they only knew one genius: Johnny.

  • @ts4gv
    @ts4gv Před 9 měsíci +1

    Wow. Imagine being so smart that you can lose 100 IQ points and still be fully aware that you've lost 100 IQ points.

  • @steveinmidtown
    @steveinmidtown Před 9 měsíci +1

    damn...read through Von Neumann's Wikipedia page...the guy packed a lot into his 57 years.

  • @freebornjohn2687
    @freebornjohn2687 Před 9 měsíci +3

    Bertrand Russell said: Most people would rather die than think and many of them do!

  • @johnaugsburger6192
    @johnaugsburger6192 Před 4 lety +1

    Thanks

  • @dylangabriel2703
    @dylangabriel2703 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Probably the most influential man of the 20th century

  • @jaytaffer9641
    @jaytaffer9641 Před 9 měsíci

    I think my life just changed.

  • @yevgeniyzharinov7473
    @yevgeniyzharinov7473 Před 7 lety +6

    I love this man.

  • @bbbartolo
    @bbbartolo Před 9 měsíci +1

    Intellectuals per se enjoy thinking, which raises the question of whether Von Neumann was an intellectual. Does a love for logical processes alone qualify one as an intellectual? I liked Camus' definition of the term, which was "one whose mind watches itself."

  • @yungumo
    @yungumo Před 9 měsíci

    rest in peace

  • @kevin_heslip
    @kevin_heslip Před 9 měsíci

    “He could and did talk to my three year old in his own terms, and I sometimes wonder if his relation to the rest of us was a little bit similar.”

  • @dmblum1
    @dmblum1 Před 9 měsíci

    I would have said this cadence of speech had to inspire Sellars playing Dr. Strangelove, but I guess this was after that.

  • @EnricTeller
    @EnricTeller Před 9 měsíci

    Wow!

  • @mastpg
    @mastpg Před 9 měsíci

    Whatever else he did, "Johnny" sat down with paper and a slide rule and figured out compounding compression waves for the implosion design....after nearly all the top minds of his day had failed. If everyone at Los Alamos had understood how special he was, none of them would have lost a second of sleep during the war. Unbelievable....

  • @kalynaq7720
    @kalynaq7720 Před 9 měsíci

    the content of this is moving and interesting but: what lovely, weird oratory!

  • @xijinpooh7226
    @xijinpooh7226 Před 8 měsíci +1

    This mad lad (Teller) put on sunscreen during the trinity test to sunbathe in the light of the first ever nuclear explosion lol

  • @iitzfizz
    @iitzfizz Před 4 měsíci

    When so many top tier respected scientists say you're a genius, you're obviously on another level

  • @GeffenAvraham
    @GeffenAvraham Před 9 měsíci

    he reminds me so much of bela lugosi's dracula

  • @sohailverma3998
    @sohailverma3998 Před 9 měsíci +6

    who is here after watching Oppenheimer?

    • @richinoable
      @richinoable Před 3 měsíci

      I have known the outline of the story for a long time. Learning about the actual participants has become my new avocation.
      I love his considered speech, his rhythm, his emphasis...
      Oof, so many mixed feelings.
      But ...but... His work laid the foundation for nearly 80 years of (relative) peace and progress.
      Let's hope trump goes to jail ASAP.

  • @wondereagle
    @wondereagle Před 3 měsíci +1

    Death sitting in an easy chair.

  • @kbuss10
    @kbuss10 Před 9 měsíci +1

    Teller reminds me of a specific actor but can't figure out who can't get my brain around it, looks like I'm not thinking fast enough lol. btw they said Von Neumann was thinking on some problem every waking hour and he didn't slept much ... and if there wasn't a scientific problem at hand he created one, lol 😆. he was clearly addicted to thinking.

  • @AN-qk5st
    @AN-qk5st Před 3 lety +6

    I don't pretend that Von Neumann is the best mathematician, in fact I would put him beyond Alexandre Grothendieck. But JVN is by far the greatest mind of the XXcentury (maybe ever), just in front of Majorana ans Ramanujan.

  • @jarthur5094
    @jarthur5094 Před 9 měsíci

    Von Neumann would be a trrrific biography film because he was so unique

  • @tarquin161234
    @tarquin161234 Před 8 měsíci +1

    If I had a brain like his I'm sure I would enjoy thinking too, but unfortunately most people don't

  • @walterwhite3903
    @walterwhite3903 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Did you get to talk to teller mr david

  • @as123ferrdi8
    @as123ferrdi8 Před 9 měsíci +1

    He seems a mad man

  • @cakins1986
    @cakins1986 Před 9 měsíci

    Teller seems to be having trouble controlling the VOLUME OF HIS VOICE

  • @viragbalazs711
    @viragbalazs711 Před 4 lety +8

    Teller Ede And Neumann János. The 2 "big" hungarian!

    • @roybiv4499
      @roybiv4499 Před 2 lety +3

      What about Szilard and Erdos?

  • @geraldking4080
    @geraldking4080 Před 10 měsíci

    Do you have any film from the 1950s UFO contactee gatherings at the Big Rock in the Mojave?

  • @jessicafischerqueen
    @jessicafischerqueen Před 8 lety +4

    "Please buy my..." lol

  • @David_7171
    @David_7171 Před 9 měsíci +1

    Father of the H Bomb talking about the Father of the Computer

  • @dunkTheFunk
    @dunkTheFunk Před 9 měsíci

    R.I.P. JVN. I wonder what he would make of society nowadays.

  • @missbussy10
    @missbussy10 Před 10 lety +1

    Interesting..

  • @milobarkymcbarkface6846
    @milobarkymcbarkface6846 Před 9 měsíci

    Kubrick purportedly based the character of Dr. Strangelove on theoretical physicist Edward Teller. Teller was the inventor of the hydrogen bomb. He worked under Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project, and continued to research nuclear weapons after the Second World War.

    • @jamesrav
      @jamesrav Před 9 měsíci +1

      Sellers even combed his hair the same. I wonder if he watched this interview, because the leg crossing and leaning are very similar to how he portrayed him the movie.

    • @hm5142
      @hm5142 Před 9 měsíci +1

      But Teller was never a NAZI, so it is not a good parallel. The love of the bomb works, though.

  • @Hazardteam
    @Hazardteam Před 10 měsíci +10

    This man (Teller) saved the world 3 times. RESPECT!

  • @cdorman11
    @cdorman11 Před 11 měsíci +2

    I remember watching this decades ago, from the Courant library. So memorable. "Youth Needs to Know," the description of his deathbed suffering, the contrast between the pain most people feel in thinking and the lucky ones who enjoy it
    One of his brothers wrote a bio about him. It's easily searchable on Google: "A book by one of his brothers: John von Neumann As Seen By His Brother. I found particularly interesting his teachers' protecting young Johnny by sitting him at the front of the class apart from others, the dinner discussions in which the children would report on the day in order of birth (Johnny was oldest and so got the most practice), and the perspective on Johnny's memory--that the axiomatic approach was more central to his success as a genius.

  • @kdpowers
    @kdpowers Před 9 měsíci

    Benny Safdie did a pretty good job playing him

  • @AnuarPhysics
    @AnuarPhysics Před 10 lety +1

    Where is von Neumann?

  • @kaos092
    @kaos092 Před 9 měsíci +2

    Why is he screaming

  • @thedouglasw.lippchannel5546
    @thedouglasw.lippchannel5546 Před 8 měsíci

    All Physicists should try CIG Theory!

  • @DC-zi6se
    @DC-zi6se Před 5 lety +7

    Greatest Mathematician Of The 20th Century: von Neumann, Hilbert and probably Grothendieck and Kolmogorov.

    • @LauritzMelchior
      @LauritzMelchior Před 4 lety +1

      Turing? Godel?

    • @tamarakiss5943
      @tamarakiss5943 Před 4 lety

      Also Perelman

    • @gspcro9047
      @gspcro9047 Před 3 lety

      @Heisenberg-SchrodingerEmc2
      In terms of raw ability there are merely a handful of people who can (maybe) compete with Neumann. Those would be the likes of Gauss, Euler, and Leibniz.
      JVN was just way too fast and sharp.