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The duties of John von Neumann's assistant (1993)

shitpost.plover.com/m/math.jobs-you-dont-want.html

249 points · 66 comments · 8 years ago · AndrewDucker

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danieltillett8 years ago
The original this is taken from is better [0].
0. https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/upload_library/2...
gumby8 years ago
What they don't tell you is that at the Institute for Advanced Study the poor assistant had to use the same filing cabinet for his list of duties, to do list, and all of Von Neumann's correspondence and papers.
While up at Harvard the assistants were given separate cabinets to make their lives easier. But woe betide the poor assistant who tried to put a file in the wrong cabinet!
mark_l_watson8 years ago
As a young post doc at the Institute for Advance Study, my Dad knew von Neuman, who according to my Dad, tended to work late at night and work with loud music playing - very much like young hackers today!
KKKKkkkk18 years ago
It was traditional belief that Einstein's assistant did nothing. The only requirement for him was to be a Jewish exile from Nazi Germany.
Einstein's assistant Kemeny ended up designing the BASIC language and being one of the founding fathers of computer science. His assistant Rosen ended up being president of Ben Gurion Univesity and co-founding the Israeli Academy of Sciences. Based on their accomplishments, seems to me like their religion was not the only requirement made of them.
stiff8 years ago
It is worth noting that Paul Halmos was an assistant of von Neumann's:
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Halmos.h...
knbknb8 years ago
In the German Wikipedia there is a photograph of the lecture timetable, University of Berlin, 1928.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Ne...
Von Neumann's scheduled his lectures as follows
- Wed and Sunday (!) 9-11 am; - Friday 3.30-5pm - Tue 7-9pm (Invited Talks / Faculty Seminar) - Mon 4-5 pm
I think that was uncommon even in the old days.
raverbashing8 years ago
While academia is a place of good ideas and discussions, the power-distance and the use of students as very cheap labour with the promise of a higher place of importance someday is a dark side of it
Low skilled workers are treated better and more fairly than Graduate Students in a lot of occasions
johan_larson8 years ago
I wonder how long his assistants lasted.
M_Bakhtiari8 years ago
In some ultra-low power distance societies, places like Sweden, the idea that anyone, no matter how important, is ever entitled to an assistant or secretary is almost anathema.
Imagine if von Neumann had been required to do all of that in addition to making his own airline and hotel reservations, as is the case for many university professors these days.
sethherr8 years ago
This was posted within today, not 1993. Title fix?

news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16411799

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SmackerNews

The duties of John von Neumann's assistant (1993)

shitpost.plover.com/m/math.jobs-you-dont-want.html

249 points · 66 comments · 8 years ago · AndrewDucker

shitpost.plover.com

danieltillett8 years ago
The original this is taken from is better [0].
0. https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/upload_library/2...
gumby8 years ago
What they don't tell you is that at the Institute for Advanced Study the poor assistant had to use the same filing cabinet for his list of duties, to do list, and all of Von Neumann's correspondence and papers.
While up at Harvard the assistants were given separate cabinets to make their lives easier. But woe betide the poor assistant who tried to put a file in the wrong cabinet!
mark_l_watson8 years ago
As a young post doc at the Institute for Advance Study, my Dad knew von Neuman, who according to my Dad, tended to work late at night and work with loud music playing - very much like young hackers today!
KKKKkkkk18 years ago
It was traditional belief that Einstein's assistant did nothing. The only requirement for him was to be a Jewish exile from Nazi Germany.
Einstein's assistant Kemeny ended up designing the BASIC language and being one of the founding fathers of computer science. His assistant Rosen ended up being president of Ben Gurion Univesity and co-founding the Israeli Academy of Sciences. Based on their accomplishments, seems to me like their religion was not the only requirement made of them.
stiff8 years ago
It is worth noting that Paul Halmos was an assistant of von Neumann's:
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Halmos.h...
knbknb8 years ago
In the German Wikipedia there is a photograph of the lecture timetable, University of Berlin, 1928.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Ne...
Von Neumann's scheduled his lectures as follows
- Wed and Sunday (!) 9-11 am; - Friday 3.30-5pm - Tue 7-9pm (Invited Talks / Faculty Seminar) - Mon 4-5 pm
I think that was uncommon even in the old days.
raverbashing8 years ago
While academia is a place of good ideas and discussions, the power-distance and the use of students as very cheap labour with the promise of a higher place of importance someday is a dark side of it
Low skilled workers are treated better and more fairly than Graduate Students in a lot of occasions
johan_larson8 years ago
I wonder how long his assistants lasted.
M_Bakhtiari8 years ago
In some ultra-low power distance societies, places like Sweden, the idea that anyone, no matter how important, is ever entitled to an assistant or secretary is almost anathema.
Imagine if von Neumann had been required to do all of that in addition to making his own airline and hotel reservations, as is the case for many university professors these days.
sethherr8 years ago
This was posted within today, not 1993. Title fix?

news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16411799