[pixelpoet]

Don't take it from me:

> Nobel Laureate Hans Bethe could not comprehend von Neumann's incredible intellect: "I have sometimes wondered whether a brain like von Neumann's does not indicate a species superior to that of man."

He's certainly not alone in that opinion either, cf. Oppenheimer and the rest of "the martians" [1]; I've read several books about him, and the history of mathematics in general.

Of course we may disagree, but...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martians_(scientists)

[fishtockos]

Here is Eugene Wigner on Einstein and von Neumann

> I have known a great many intelligent people in my life. I knew Planck, von Laue and Heisenberg. Paul Dirac was my brother in law; Leo Szilard and Edward Teller have been among my closest friends; and Albert Einstein was a good friend, too. But none of them had a mind as quick and acute as Jansci [John] von Neumann. I have often remarked this in the presence of those men and no one ever disputed me.

But Einstein's understanding was deeper even than von Neumann's. His mind was both more penetrating and more original than von Neumann's. And that is a very remarkable statement. Einstein took an extraordinary pleasure in invention. Two of his greatest inventions are the Special and General Theories of Relativity; and for all of Jansci's brilliance, he never produced anything as original.

[mftb]

This quote really goes to the heart of it. I think he was being fairly precise here in the use speed and acuity, contrasted with insight and originality. Our brains just like the rest of our bodies have a lot of different capabilities. I don't think most of us would find it particularly meaningful to compare the strongest lifter with the fastest runner, yet related to intelligence people do this sort of thing all the time. This quote seems a better informed view.

[dEnigma]

Sure, as a metaphorical device to underline his exceptional contributions to science/mathematics/etc. and lightning-quick intellect. But not in seriousness, as a "first required step to understanding", like you phrased it in your original comment. Maybe I'm just a bit allergic to the almost cult-like behaviour some von Neumann fans show.