Given that population has increased and arguably(?) gotten more intelligent since Neuman's day (and for all the deserved respect he gets, I'm more of a Feynman fan myself so there were a few brainiacs back then), you'd have to assume there are a few people on his level walking around today, and I wonder what they're up to. Is creating a more addictive website for a FAANG company or a better high-speed trading algorithm for a Fintech what they see as a good calling? The smartest person I knew in high school (and I went to a rather high end one) who easily was the valedictorian, basically only wanted to play the trumpet (which he was also superlatively good at). I don't really know what became of him.
> Given that population has increased and arguably(?) gotten more intelligent since Neuman's day, you'd have to assume there are a few people on his level walking around today, and I wonder what they're up to.
Hahaha, oh man.
Von Neumann, and many of his contemporaries, weren't secretive researchers toiling in obscure corporate labs -- they were famous public intellectuals with renowned accomplishments across many fields. There are no men of that caliber alive today, and the educational system absolutely excels in ensuring that such well-rounded men are not produced.
