Ananyo Bhattacharya is the author of *The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann*, a brilliant biography of one of the most prolific and influential scientists to have ever lived. He joins the show to discuss von Neumann’s contributions to quantum physics, game theory, the Manhattan Project, and much more!
- Ananyo’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/ananyo
- The Man from the Future - https://www.amazon.com/Man-Future-Visionary-Life-Neumann/dp/1324003995
Books Mentioned:
- The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann; by Ananyo Bhattacharya
- The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch
- The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom
- Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour; by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern
Show notes
00:00 Intro
01:19 Main Podcast
01:34 How did John von Neumann even exist?
06:38 Would von Neumann’s discoveries have happened without him?
09:31 The Martians of Hungary
15:17 The migrant mentality
21:08 Innovation in the face of extinction
23:46 Science, genius & the herd mentality
28:53 Von Neumann’s contribution to quantum physics
42:18 Game theory, Minimax and zero-sum games
01:00:01 von Neumann: quant in the streets; romantic in the sheets
01:06:04 The eccentricity of brilliance
01:10:59 von Neumann and the Manhattan Project
01:24:08 The godfather of the open source movement
01:27:24 Von Neumann as a project manager
01:32:17 How writing the book changed Ananyo’s understanding of von Neumann
01:41:00 Ananyo’s next projects
