Computer Programming and John Von Neumann

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John Von Neumann was born in Budapest the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was born to wealthy Jewish parents, Miksa Neumann and Margit Kann, and was the firstborn of three boys. Mariette Kovesi was his first wife, and together they had a daughter. After getting a divorce, Von Neumann married Klari Dan. Von Neumann attended ETH Zurich, where he received his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering, and Eotvos Lorand University (or Budapest University), where he received a PhD in mathematics. He received both degrees at the age of twenty-two. Important people in his life included, Laszio Racz, Erhard Schmidt, and Hermann Weyl, but probably most important David Hilbert, whom interested Von Neumann in two important things; these two things, “the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics” and mathematical logic. Another person that had a great influence on Von Neumann was Oswald Veblen who helped him get a job at Princeton. Additional teachers, tutors, and mentors that influenced Von Neumann were Lipot Fejer, Laszlo Ratz, and Szego. Lipot Fejer was a thesis or doctoral advisor for Von Neumann; Laszlo Ratz was his mathematics teacher in high school at Fasori Gimnaziumi; and Szego was his house tutor. Von Neumann’s desire for to study math began at a young age. When he was six years old, “he could divide two 8-digit numbers in his head,” and two years later, “he was familiar with differential and integral calculus.” When he turned fifteen, he started studying calculus, and by the time he was nineteen he had already published two major articles concerning mathematics. Early in Von Neumann’s life in 1914, World War I began. In the middle of Von Neumann’s life in 1929, the Stock Market crashes and causes the Great Depressi...

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... a 4-digit starting value is created and squared, producing an 8-digit number. The middle 4 digits of the result would be the next number in the sequence, and returned as the result.” Then to create more numbers the process is continued. By writing up the draft for the EDVAC and creating the middle-square method, Van Neumann was able to contribute to technology and mathematics. By creating the middle-square method, the technology and efficiency of the computer could be advanced. Additionally, by coming up with ideas for the EDVAC, he was to create a higher-level computer and therefore, continue to contribute to the advancement of the computer. From this discovery, I have learned the necessity of math in computer design. It was also intriguing learning how the computer has developed over time and what great influenced Von Neumann had on the improvement of it.

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