Pascal's Wager

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! Important Links:

• Ananyo’s Twitter
• The Man from the Future

Show Notes:

• How did John von Neumann even exist?
• Would von Neumann’s discoveries have happened without him?
• The Martians of Hungary
• The migrant mentality
• Innovation in the face of extinction
• Science, genius & the herd mentality
• Von Neumann’s contribution to quantum physics
• Game theory, Minimax and zero-sum games
• von Neumann: quant in the streets; romantic in the sheets
• The eccentricity of brilliance
• Von Neumann and the Manhattan Project
• The godfather of the open-source movement
• Von Neumann as a project manager
• How writing the book changed Ananyo’s understanding of von Neumann
• Ananyo’s next projects
• MUCH more!

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