The sciences do not try to explain, they hardly even try to interpret, they mainly make models. By a model is meant a mathematical construct which, w… - John von Neumann

" "

The sciences do not try to explain, they hardly even try to interpret, they mainly make models. By a model is meant a mathematical construct which, with the addition of certain verbal interpretations, describes observed phenomena. The justification of such a mathematical construct is solely and precisely that it is expected to work.

English
Collect this quote

About John von Neumann

John von Neumann (28 December 1903 – 8 February 1957) was a Hungarian-American-Jewish mathematician, physicist, inventor, computer scientist, and polymath. He made major contributions to a number of fields, including mathematics (foundations of mathematics, functional analysis, ergodic theory, geometry, topology, and numerical analysis), physics (quantum mechanics, hydrodynamics and quantum statistical mechanics), economics (game theory), computing (Von Neumann architecture, linear programming, self-replicating machines, stochastic computing), and statistics.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Native Name: margittai Neumann János Lajos
Also Known As: Good Time Johnny
Alternative Names: John Von Neumann Janos Lajos Neumann János Lajos Neumann von Neumann Neumann János Lajos John Louis von Neumann János Neumann
Go Premium

Support Quotewise while enjoying an ad-free experience and premium features.

View Plans

Related quotes. More quotes will automatically load as you scroll down, or you can use the load more buttons.

Additional quotes by John von Neumann

Limited Time Offer

Premium members can get their quote collection automatically imported into their Quotewise collections.

Any one who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin. For, as has been pointed out several times, there is no such thing as a random number — there are only methods to produce random numbers, and a strict arithmetic procedure of course is not such a method.

Loading...