Yesterday I read a Ananyo Bhattacharya's biogrophy and popular science book about the life and work of John von Neumann. Here's the review I posted on goodreads:
It is perhaps an understatement to say that John von Neumann made "major contributions" to mathematics, physics, game theory, operational research and computer science; he made fundamental foundational advances, started whole new fields of research and was pivotal in major new technological advances. To understand enough of what von Neumann did in order to be able to coherently explain it to a lay audience would be no mean task, but Ananyo Bhattacharya has done an excellent job of doing just that.
Labelled as "Biography/Science" by the publisher on the back cover, it is indeed not just a biography (though it is that) but popular exposition of many of von Neumann's science contributions. It appears exquisitely researched and I found it a pleasure to read - which I did in one sitting (albeit I was constrained to be sitting on a plane for many hours).
The author doesn't shy away from really describing the technical details of the science, from the way "lenses" can focus pressure waves in nuclear bombs, to the details of how cellular automata algorithms work. I found it well-explained, though I am a practicing physicist which may give me an advantage, but also would make me critical of wrong explanations. I enjoyed the more biographical parts, and wouldn't have minded a more complete biography if the source material is out there.
Where I did occasionally get thrown were when the narrative jumped around a little in time, or with phrases like
Among those who flocked to the private seminars Mises held in his office was future Nobel laureate Friedrich Hayek, whose criticisms of central planning and socialism would inspire economic liberalizers like Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan – and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
Did Pinochet flock to Mises's private seminars, or was he influenced by Hayek? There's a bit of this, but it's a minor niggle that doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. Oh, and the one sentence that I definitely would have rewritten is the first of chapter 8:
The odd angles, harsh lighting and wobbly movements of the hand-cam give the video of a 3D printer at work the air of an amateur porn film.
Presumably the use of simile is to compare something we are unfamiliar with with something we are. That's quite an assumption about the readership, not only that we are watchers of porn videos, but sufficiently expert to distinguish professional ones from amateur.
No comments:
Post a Comment