My new piece! "Why should physics—rooted in making sense of real things in the world—provide such good leads for solving some of the toughest problems in mathematics, which deals with intangible stuff, like functions and equations?" Enjoy! 🧵 1/
nautil.us/why-physics-is… For centuries, philosophers, mathematicians and physicists have pondered why maths 'works' in the sciences. Eugene Wigner even devoted a whole essay to what he called the “Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences.” But what about the converse question? 2/

Von Neumann was so far ahead of his time, contemporary science fiction authors appreciated his ideas years before many of his colleagues did... 1/

https://twitter.com/C4COMPUTATION/status/1518032448067616771

His lectures on self-replicating automata delivered at the 1948 Hixon Symposium on Cerebral Mechanisms
in Behaviour were published in 1951. They occured first in Philip K Dick's 1953 short story, 'Second Variety', which was turned into a film-'Screamers'-in... 1995 2/

German mathematician Grete Hermann was born #OnThisDay in 1901. The only female doctoral student of the only female professor of mathematics at the University of Göttingen, Emmy Noether. Short thread. More in my book! 1/ wwnorton.com/books/the-man-… Hermann flourished at Göttingen despite the sexism of the faculty. Just a few years before she began her PhD, historians and linguists had tried to block Noether’s own appointment, forcing Hilbert to intervene on her behalf. 2/

Mathematical genius John von Neumann died 65 years ago today in Washington D.C. Possibly the smartest person who ever lived, he forged a blueprint for the future and changed America--and the world--forever. Find out how on 2.22.22 wwnorton.com/books/the-man-… 1/ Born in Budapest in 1903, by the time he died von Neumann was as famous in the USA as Einstein—and considered far sharper. While Einstein’s most famous work was done in Europe, von Neumann’s life in America was richly productive—and influential 2/

For #AdaLovelaceDay21, a long thread on Klári Dan von Neumann, writer of the first truly useful, complex programs ever to have been executed on a modern computer and to my mind, the most overlooked person in the history of computing 1/ Klári was born 110 years ago to a wealthy Jewish family in sparkling Belle Époque Budapest. The family hosted riotous parties where businessmen and politicians rubbed shoulders with artists and writers. She would rekindle the spirit of those gatherings in America years later 2/

🅿🆄🅱🅻🅸🅲🅰🆃🅸🅾🅽 🅳🅰🆈!!!🙌👏🙌
To celebrate, a bumper thread about the genius at the centre of my book. RT ░N░O░W░ to spread the word... and for a chance to WIN a signed copy (yes, I’ll post abroad if I need to) 1/
penguin.co.uk/books/313705/t… This is the story of the 20th century’s foremost forgotten intellectual, a man who was in his day as well-known as Einstein—and considered smarter. Sixty-five years after his death, the impact of von Neumann’s ideas on contemporary life are...without parallel 2/

A thread about my book, ‘The Man from the Future’ and why I think you’ll love it even if you’ve never read a scientific biography before. Let me take you on a journey into our future’s past... 1/ penguin.co.uk/books/313705/t… Who was John von Neumann? Born in 1903, he’s the 20th century’s foremost forgotten intellectual, a man who was as well-known as Einstein—and considered smarter. Sixty-five years after his death, the impact of von Neumann’s ideas on contemporary life are...without parallel 2/

I hate lockdowns and I hate schools being closed. Which is why I don't want a fourth lockdown later this year. How do we avoid that? 1/ First let's counter this idea that scientists are pessimistic. This isn't true. In my experience, generally, they're rather an optimistic bunch. My rule of thumb is that if you listen to many scientists, they're actually giving you an upbeat interpretation of the facts. 2/

Great series from @PhysicsWorld on scientists (nearly all women) overlooked for a Nobel. Additional reason that Meitner was overlooked: as a refugee in Sweden, she was working in Manne Siegbahn's lab... 1/

https://twitter.com/PhysicsWorld/status/1313172637825355776

Siegbahn was a physics Nobelist, very influential in the higher echelons of Swedish science and, apparently, a notorious misogynist (see Ruth Lewin Sime's ace biog) who was resentful about Meitner's presence.

1/ Thread on Sweden, #coronavirus, the mathematician John von Neumann and the war that didn’t occur 2/ Von Neumann helped invent, among other things, the modern computer, game theory and the atom bomb. He predicted WWII, the Holocaust, that France would be overrun quickly, that the US would enter the war when UK struggled...

1/ Some thoughts on medium/long term 'exit strategy'. I can't see one without significant drawbacks if, as seems likely, relatively small proportion of population infected with #coronavirus. Very happy to be corrected. Possibilities... 2/ Option A: Slowly lift lockdown measures when peak has subsided eg send kids back to school, reopen shops - but continue social distancing. This will result in second wave of infections, which would have to be followed by another lockdown lasting weeks...

Fun #Boris fact. About 13 years ago, when I was news ed at @ResFortnight, we sent a reporter along to interview the then shadow higher education minister about universities and science policy. It was a total farce. He neither knew nor cared one jot.... @ResFortnight At one point, he blustered (approximately), "Well you clearly know more about this than I do, Why don't you tell me what our policies should be."