Abraham Pais on John von Neumann

“Von Neumann's reputation and fame have grown steadily since his death. His fantastic brain, and the breadth of his interests and undertakings, have become almost legendary.”

“In my life I have met men even greater than Johnny, but none as brilliant. He shone not only in mathematics but was also fluently multilingual and particularly well-versed in history. One of his most remarkable abilities I soon came to note was his power of absolute recall.”

“Morgenstern was once asked how a scholar outside the mainstream of economic thinking could make a contribution as original, innovative, and decisive as Johnny's. He replied that Johnny had an extraordinary capacity for picking the brains of a person whom he engaged in casual conversations. Once he saw from these that there was a problem of sufficient mathematical interest to warrant his spending time on it, he homed on to that subject like a guided missile.”