I appreciate that your piece helps bring Von Neumann back into balance. There’s something so intriguing about delving into the roots of his psychology, even though it can never be fully understood. While “The MANIAC” might not be entirely accurate, exploring what Von Neumann knew and felt about himself is fascinating. Your point about him being portrayed as darker than reality is an insight I hadn’t consciously realized. I had no issues reading “The Man From The Future,” but I find myself listening to “The MANIAC” in small chunks – it’s too heavy to take in all at once.
More than anything, I wonder what it must have felt like for Von Neumann to be so acutely aware of his ability to create new knowledge and make massive leaps that few others could, while also knowing his time was finite. He pushed boundaries in so many areas—computation, automata, game theory, etc.—but just ran out of time.
Very interesting comments. Thank you! "While “The MANIAC” might not be entirely accurate, exploring what Von Neumann knew and felt about himself is fascinating." Yes it would be but how much does The Maniac do that? Or is it more about Labatut's fears of the future? What I noticed is that even Labatut did not attempt to 'get inside' von Neumann's head as a novelist might. Instead he opted to write a choral work, with the voices of family, friends and colleagues building a (warped?) picture of the man... It's a very powerful book I agree.
"What I noticed is that even Labatut did not attempt to 'get inside' von Neumann's head as a novelist might. Instead he opted to write a choral work, with the voices of family, friends and colleagues building a (warped?) picture of the man"
What a great point - we are all warped by the perception of others (this also gave Labatut room to explore his own fears/thoughts).
In re to your question - totally funny error. I created this account for my daughter when she was seven (I'm to her right). She loved writing short little animated books and we created this account as an experiment to post her stories. She's totally moved on but I've never updated the account details (there's definitely nostalgia attached to this time in her life).
I appreciate that your piece helps bring Von Neumann back into balance. There’s something so intriguing about delving into the roots of his psychology, even though it can never be fully understood. While “The MANIAC” might not be entirely accurate, exploring what Von Neumann knew and felt about himself is fascinating. Your point about him being portrayed as darker than reality is an insight I hadn’t consciously realized. I had no issues reading “The Man From The Future,” but I find myself listening to “The MANIAC” in small chunks – it’s too heavy to take in all at once.
More than anything, I wonder what it must have felt like for Von Neumann to be so acutely aware of his ability to create new knowledge and make massive leaps that few others could, while also knowing his time was finite. He pushed boundaries in so many areas—computation, automata, game theory, etc.—but just ran out of time.
Very interesting comments. Thank you! "While “The MANIAC” might not be entirely accurate, exploring what Von Neumann knew and felt about himself is fascinating." Yes it would be but how much does The Maniac do that? Or is it more about Labatut's fears of the future? What I noticed is that even Labatut did not attempt to 'get inside' von Neumann's head as a novelist might. Instead he opted to write a choral work, with the voices of family, friends and colleagues building a (warped?) picture of the man... It's a very powerful book I agree.
PS Are you really seven!?
"What I noticed is that even Labatut did not attempt to 'get inside' von Neumann's head as a novelist might. Instead he opted to write a choral work, with the voices of family, friends and colleagues building a (warped?) picture of the man"
What a great point - we are all warped by the perception of others (this also gave Labatut room to explore his own fears/thoughts).
In re to your question - totally funny error. I created this account for my daughter when she was seven (I'm to her right). She loved writing short little animated books and we created this account as an experiment to post her stories. She's totally moved on but I've never updated the account details (there's definitely nostalgia attached to this time in her life).
just finished Maniac - thanks for your Excellent commentary