The Contributions of John Von Neumann

Introduction

Often called a genius, John von Neumann made significant contributions in a wide range of issues. His work on mathematical physics won him praise as a major intellectual influence responsible for the emergence of game theory, digital computing, and cellular automata. Despite the mathematical nature of its scientific interest, von Neumann also made important contributions to the economy. His influence on the study of economics has received universal recognition of distinguished economists. Despite the disagreement with von Neumann on crucial questions, Paul Samuelson, a Nobel laureate in economics, said: "incomparable Johnny von Neumann. (Robert, 732)

John von Neumann: the brilliant young mathematician

Janos von Neumann was born on December 28, 1903 into a wealthy Jewish banking family in Budapest, Hungary. He took advantage of an elitist education that the 'boom' town. At the age of ten, he recognized a child prodigy. At the age of seventeen, von Neumann enrolled at the University of Budapest to study mathematics. Between 1921 and 1923 he went to Budapest only to take the examination, when he attended the University of Berlin to take courses in physics, including statistical mechanics taught by Albert Einstein. In Berlin, he was associated with other distinguished Hungarian emigres, including Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilard, and Dennis Gabor, all prominent members of the "Hungarian Phenomenon", which later had an enormous influence on American physics and mathematics. At the same time, von Neumann met mathematician David Hubert, a major influence on much of his work, in Göttingen. (Robert 732), he attended the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, where he received a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1925. One year later, von Neumann, and earned Ph.D. in mathematics with highest honors University in Budapest. After teaching mathematics at Princeton University for a semester in 1930, von Neumann moved permanently to the United States in 1933. He taught near Princeton, and professor of mathematics at the newly established Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), created in conjunction with Abraham Flexner such famous scientists and mathematicians, like Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Hermann Weyl and Wigner.

Von Neumann proved to be a brilliant young mathematician. Between 1922 and 1927, he produced eighteen basic mathematical article. Much of his early research can best be described as a response to Hubert in the mathematical program. Sometimes called "formalist" school of mathematics, this approach was concerned with the foundations of mathematics and mathematical axiomatization of physics. (Robert, 732) tries to set the various fields of mathematics, but on the basis of sound axiomatic Hubert stood in the middle of the program, as von Neumann projects were included in it. Both of them were interested in demonstrating how mathematics can be widely applied, and the tool, even in areas that have been before, not merely to formalize mathematically. Explaining von Neumann contribution to the economy this way, his work reflect a belief in the vital role mathematics could play in the field of science and society, rather than a genuine interest in economic issues.

Von Neumann contribution to the economy

Von ...