The computer from Pascal to von Neumann
by Herman Heine Goldstine · first published 1972
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In 1942, Lt. Herman H. Goldstine, a former mathematics professor, was stationed at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. It was there that he assisted in the creation of the ENIAC, the first electronic digital computer. The ENIAC was operational in 1945, but plans for a new computer were already underway. The principal source of ideas for the new computer was John von Neumann, who became Goldstine's chief collaborator. Together they developed EDVAC, successor to ENIAC. After World War II, at the Institute for Advanced Study, they built what was to become
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Goldstine also wrote a very interesting book called "The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann" that chronicles some of his experiences and also shows the depth of his research trying to draw inspiration from earlier calculating machines.
on “Herman Goldstine and the IAS Machine: Unveiling the Modern Computer (2023)” ↗The Computer from Pascal to Von Neumann by Herman Goldstine.
on “Ask HN: Greatest books about the history of computing” ↗…a war hawk, none of the quotes are false or anything like that but when the book first came out several of von Neumann's colleagues criticized the book for trying to character assassinate him. - The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann Goldstine talks about the history of the computer but about two-thirds of the book covers work von Neumann and him both did together and there is plenty of biographical material on von Neumann. Obviously…
on “Life is not short” ↗…Eidetic memory's prevalence: According to Herman Goldstine, the mathematician John von Neumann was able to recall from memory every book he had ever read. [15] Referring to Page 167 of Goldstine's The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann As far as I could tell, von Neumann was able on once reading a book or article to quote it back verbatim; moreover he could do it years later without hesitation. He then goes on with a story about him…
on “Total recall: the people who never forget” ↗