The Unparalleled Genius of John von Neumann
&quot;Von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my 3-year-old son, and the two of them would talk as equals, and I sometimes wondered if he used the same principle when he talked to the rest of us.&quot; - Edward Teller<p>See [0] for a demonstration.<p>I watched a documentary from the 80ies a long time ago. A mathematician (can&#x27;t remember his name) who worked with von Neumann in Los Alamanos was interviewed. He described von Neumann&#x27;s last weeks in the hospital - the cancer had already metastasized into his brain. The mathematician said something along this lines (I am citing from memory): &quot;von Neumann was constantly visited by colleagues, who wanted to discuss their latest work with him. He tried to keep up, struggling, like in old times. But he couldn&#x27;t. Try to imagine having one of the greatest minds maybe in the history of mankind. And then try to imagine losing this gift. I was terrible. I have never seen a man experience greater suffering.&quot;<p>Marina von Neumann (his daughter) later wrote this about his final weeks:<p>&quot;After only a few minutes, my father made what seemed to be a very peculiar and frightening request from a man who was widely regarded as one of the greatest - if not the greatest - mathematician of the 20th century. He wanted me to give him two numbers, like 7 and 6 or 10 and 3, and ask him to tell me their sum. For as long as I can remember, I had always known that my father&#x27;s major source of self-regard, what he felt to be the very essence of his being, was his incredible mental capacity. In this late stage of his illness, he must have been aware that this capacity was deteriorating rapidly, and the panic that caused was worse than any physical pain. In demanding that I test him on these elementary sums, he was seeking reassurance that at least a small fragment of this intellectual powers remained.&quot; [1]<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=vLbllFHBQM4" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=vLbllFHBQM4</a><p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Martians-Daughter-Memoir-Marina-Whitman&#x2F;dp&#x2F;0472118420" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Martians-Daughter-Memoir-Marina-Whitm...</a>