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by 1-more 30 days ago
Highly recommend The Man from the Future biography of John von Neumann. We got The Martians for a steal because Europe was too hostile to minorities and we got the Manhattan Project and computers out of the deal. Never gonna have a brain drain arbitrage opportunity like that again.
2 comments

Thanks! Really appreciate the recommendation!

> Never gonna have a brain drain arbitrage opportunity like that again.

It’s sort of there for the taking for American elites. Someone just has to roll out a real red carpet.

That’s not remotely similar.
Similar to what? Von Neumann was part of Europe's elite scientific brain drain to the US in the 20th century, that's all.
Whether to help an existing accomplished researcher change address because their home country is not an option, is not similar to the question of whether to educate chinese students who plan to return home.
Never said they were, just said it's a good book about a pretty unique set of circumstances and the biography of one guy in the middle of it.