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John Von Neumann

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Mathematician

The Resume

    (December 28, 1903-February 8, 1957)
    Born in Budapest, Hungary
    Birth name was Neumann Janos Lajos
    Contributed to set theory, functional analysis, statistics, quantum mechanics, economics, game theory and computer science
    Professor of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton (1933-57)
    Member of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb
    Consultant on the pioneering EDVAC computer project (1946)
    Became a US citizen (1937)
    Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1956)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a child prodigy.
    He changed his name from the Hungarian 'Janos' to the German 'Johannes' to the Anglo 'John.'
    He wore the same gray flannel business suit everywhere, even while playing tennis.
    He was a horrible driver, describing one accident with 'I was proceeding down the road. The trees on the right were passing me in orderly fashion at 60 miles per hour. Suddenly one of them stepped in my path.'
    He advocated a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the Soviet Union.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Mathematician Peter Lax called him 'the most scintillating intellect' of the 20th century.
    He was one of the original appointees at the Institute for Advanced Studies, along with Albert Einstein and Kurt Godel.
    He was fond of Yiddish humor and off-color limericks.
    While he was dying, his hopsital room was placed under military security out of fears that he might reveal classified secrets while under medication.
    He declared, 'Truth is much too complicated to allow anything but approximations.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 12.50% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 82 Votes: 51.22% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 56 Votes: 41.07% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 19 Votes: 26.32% Annoying