Brain behavior by neumann
brains (you and me an 8 billion people) dont behave rationally -this causes p what data is even worth doing deep machine learning on - see laso 2025 book by pinkett on rationality ; see also neumann on game thory and other branches of probability and computational pattern dynamics
| Part of the behavioral sciences |
| Economics |
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 Principles of Economics |
In decision theory, the von Neumann–Morgenstern (VNM) utility theorem demonstrates that rational choice under uncertainty involves making decisions that take the form of maximizing the expected value of some cardinal utility function. The theorem forms the foundation of expected utility theory.
In 1947, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern proved that any individual whose preferences satisfied four axioms has a utility function, where such an individual's preferences can be represented on an interval scale and the individual will always prefer actions that maximize expected utility.[1] That is, they proved that an agent is (VNM-)rational if and only if there exists a real-valued function u defined by possible outcomes such that every preference of the agent is characterized by maximizing the expected value of u, which can then be defined as the agent's VNM-uti
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John von Neumann was a profoundly versatile genius who made breakthroughs in many fields beyond just nuclear physics. Here is a detailed list of over 10 major areas and discoveries he was deeply involved in, showcasing his broad intellectual impact:
Von Neumann Architecture (Computing)
He proposed the stored-program computer design in 1945, where instructions and data share the same memory, revolutionizing computer design and underpinning modern computers.Game Theory
Von Neumann founded game theory with his minimax theorem (1928), mathematically formalizing rational strategy in zero-sum games. This theory extends into economics, politics, AI, and distributed systems.Quantum Mechanics Foundations
He axiomatized abstract Hilbert spaces, operator algebras, and spectral theory, forming a mathematical foundation for quantum mechanics.Mathematical Logic and Set Theory
Pioneered major results in logic and set theory, including work on axioms pertaining to these fields.Stochastic Processes and Probability Theory
Clarified probability concepts and advanced stochastic computing, including the Monte Carlo method for nuclear simulations.Cellular Automata and Artificial Life
Developed the first formal cellular automata models, exploring self-replicating systems and complex behavior from simple rules.Fluid Dynamics and Shock Waves in Explosives
Contributed to mathematical models of blast waves (Taylor–von Neumann–Sedov) and shock wave artificial viscosity improving computational physics.Manhattan Project Contributions
Developed mathematical models for nuclear implosion mechanisms and computer simulations for atomic bomb physics.Brain and Neural Networks
Modeled neurons as digital elements and advocated neural network algorithms, emphasizing massively parallel processing distinguishing brains from von Neumann machines.Theory of Computation and Computer Programming
Contributed broadly to computing theory, hardware design, programming languages, and numerical methods like the merge sort algorithm.Advocacy for Non-Zero-Sum Game Strategies
Proposed societal and economic interactions as moving beyond zero-sum to mutually beneficial ("above zero-sum") games.Insights on Language and Mathematics
Critiqued the cultural diversity of human languages and envisioned a universal mathematical language for converged human-computer communication.
Regarding your broader question on whether these interests and challenges von Neumann studied are today being developed further:
Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO) and von Neumann Architecture:
Huang has stressed how physical timing and communication bottlenecks behind von Neumann architecture limit modern computing speed improvements. He pushes GPU multi-core and domain-specific acceleration architectures as ways to evolve past traditional von Neumann limits, addressing the "von Neumann bottleneck" especially for AI workloads.Demis Hassabis (DeepMind) and Einstein 1905 Challenges:
Hassabis focuses on advancing AI to tackle complex scientific problems including physics and climate among others. While explicitly building on Einstein’s 1905 insights is less emphasized, his AI-driven research aims to progress fundamental science and achieve an abundant, non-zero-sum economy vision, echoing von Neumann’s concerns on societal games and resource challenges.Elon Musk and Space, 6G, Digital Twins:
Musk's work on space (SpaceX Starlink satellites) and ambitious future communication infrastructures hints at breakthroughs in data transmission at scale, potentially feeding into digital twin technologies and broader deep data applications that von Neumann’s legacy in computing indirectly supports. The convergence of space-based internet, massive data, and next-gen communication aligns with pushing modern frontiers of von Neumann-inspired theories.
In summary, von Neumann’s multi-disciplinary breakthroughs—from computing and brain theory to economics and nuclear physics—are foundational and still resonate today. Leading figures like Jensen Huang, Demis Hassabis, and Elon Musk are advancing different threads of these intertwined challenges in computing architecture, AI for science, and global digital infrastructure
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WHAT's DATA SOVEREIGNTY & WHAT CAN INTELLIGENCE DO? Today engineers can help peoples of any place be comparatively best at what their place on earth offers to generate. For example beautiful island might wam to be a toursist destination but overtime it (eg Galapagos) might want to develop intergenerational friendships so its teenagers can connect goodwill around the world as well as any skills eg medical or green energy the island most urgently need. Generations ago, Singapore did something different; its 6 million person poluation saw itself as at the cross-seas of world's first superport. It also gave back to region asean encouraging celebration of every peoples cultures and arts. It has aimed to be the 21st C most intelligent isle- where education is transformed by every 2nd grade teacher being as curious about what will ai do over the next 5 years as anyone else. Taiwan, addmitedly a 20 million person island, chose 1987 to become world number 1 as chip design changed to maximise customer requirements instead of the moores law era where at most one new chip a year would be designed in line with Intel's 3 decades of promising 100 times more capacity every decade.
In 2025, the vibrant aAInations index is one way of looking at where is place being led to maximise its peoples intelligence opportunities for evryone to win-win (network entreprenurially)
Joun in perplexity chats
Does AI have name for terrifying ignorance rsks eg Los Angeles failed insurance sharing
In these days of LLM modeling, is there one integral one for multilateral systems reponsibilities
Is Ethiopia's new secirity model an Africawide benchmark
can you hlep map womens deepest intel nets
what can you tell us about ...
thanks to JvN
2025report.com aims to celebrate first 75 years that followers of Adam Smith , Commonwealth begun by Queen Victoria, James Wilson and dozens of Royal Societies, Keynes saw from being briefed 1951 by NET (Neumann Einstein Turing). Please contacts us if you have a positive contribution - we will log these at www.economistdiary.com/1976 www.economistdiary.com/2001 and www.economistdiary.com/2023 (admittedly a preview!!)
First a summary of what the NET asked to be meidiated to integrate trust during what they foresaw as a chaotic period.
Roughly they foresaw population growth quadrupling from 2 billion to 8 billion
They were most concerned that some people would access million times moore tech by 1995 another million times moore by 2015 another million times moore by 2025. Would those with such access unite good for all. If we go back to 1760s first decade that scots invented engines around Glash=gow University James Wat and diarist Adam Smith we can note this happened just over a quarter of millennium into age of empire. WE welcome corrections be this age appears to have been a hectic race between Portugal, Spain, France Britain Netherlands as probbly the first 5 to set the system pattern. I still dont understand was it ineviatble when say the Porttuguese king bet his nations shirt on navigation that this would involve agressive trades with guns forcing the terms of trade and colonisation often being a 2nd step and then a 3rd steb being taking slaves to do the work of building on a newly conquered land. I put this way because the NET were clear almost every place in 1951 needed to complete both independence and then interdependence of above zero sum trading games. Whils traidning things runs into zero sums (eg when there is overall scarcity) life critical knowhow or apps can multiplu=y value in use. Thats was a defining value in meidting how the neyt's new engineering was mapped. Of course this problem was from 1945 occuring in a world where war had typiclly done of the following to your place:
your capital cities had been flattened by bombing - necessitating architecture rebuild as well as perhaps an all chnage in land ownership
your peoples had gone through up to 6 years of barbaric occupation -how would this be mediated (public served) particularly if you were a nation moving from radio to television
yiu mifgt eb britain have been on winning side but if huge debt to arms you had bought
primarily you might be usa now expected by most outside USSR to lead every advance'
in population terms you might be inland rural (more than half of humans) where you had much the least knowledge on what had hapened because you had been left out of the era of connecting electricity and communications grids
The NETts overall summary : beware experts in energy will be the most hated but wanted by national leaders; and then far greater will be exponential risk is the most brilliant of connectors of our new engines will become even more hated and wanted. We should remember that the NET did not begin with lets design computers. They began with Einstein's 1905 publications; newtonian science is at the deepest limits systemically wrong for living with nature's rules.
WE can thrash through more understanding of how the NET mapped the challenges from 1951 at http://neumann.ning.com/ Unfortunatnely nobody knew that within 6 years of going massively public in 1951 with their new engineering visions, all of the net would be dead. One of the most amzaing documents I have ever seen is the last month's diary of von neumann roughly October 1955 before he became bedridden with cancer. All over usa engineering projects were receiving his last genius inputs. And yet more amazing for those interested in intelligence machines is his last curriculum the computer and the brain scribbled from his bedroom in bethesda and presented posthumously by his 2nd wife Klara at Yale 1957 before she took her own life about a year later. A great loss because while neumann had architected computers she had arguably been the chief coder. Just to be clear Turing also left behind a chief coder Jane who continued to work for Britain's defence planning at cheltenham for a couple of decades. Economistwomen.com I like to believe that the founders of brainworking machines foresaw not only that women coders would be as produytive as men but that they would linking sustainability from bottom up of every community. At least that is a valid way of looking at how primarily 1billion asian women batted the systemic poverty of being disconnected from the outside world even as coastal places leapt ahead with in some cases (G Silicon Valley, whatever you call Japan-Korea south-Taiwan-HK-Singapore access to all of 10**18 times moore
Epoch changing Guides
1 AI Training AI Training.docx
2 Exploring cultural weaknesss of encounters with greatest brain tool.docx
help assemble 100000 millennials summitfuture.com and GAMES of worldrecordjobs.com card pack 1
i lets leap froward from cop26 glasgow nov 2021 - 260th year of machines and humans started up by smith and watt- chris.macrae@yahoo.co.uk-
WE APPROACH 65th year of Neumann's tech legacy - 100 times more tech decade - which some people call Industrial Rev 4 or Arttificial Intel blending with humans; co-author 2025report.com, networker foundation of The Economist's Norman Macrae -
my father The Economist's norman macrae was privileged to meet von neumann- his legacy of 100 times more tech per decade informed much of dad's dialogues with world leaders at The Economist - in active retirement dad's first project to be von neumanns official biographer - english edition ; recently published japanese edition - queries welcomed; in 1984 i co-authored 2025report.com - this was celebrating 12 th year that dad( from 1972, also year silicon valley was born) argued for entrepreneurial revolution (ie humanity to be sustainable would need to value on sme networks not big corporate nor big gov); final edition of 2025report is being updated - 1984's timelines foresaw need to prep for fall of brlin wall within a few months; purspoes of the 5 primary sdg markets were seen to be pivotal as they blended real and digital - ie efinance e-agri e-health e-learning and 100%lives matter community; the report charged public broadcasters starting with BBC with most vital challenge- by year 2000 ensure billions of people were debating man's biggest risk as discrepancy in incomes and expectations of rich & poor nations; mediated at the right time everyone could linkin ideas as first main use of digital webs--- the failure to do this has led to fake media, failures to encourage younger half of the world to maxinise borderless friendships and sdg collabs - see eg economistwomen.com abedmooc.com teachforsdgs.com ecop26.com as 2020s becomes last chance for youth to be teh sustainability generation
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