Re: [HM] Oskar Morgenstern (was: Minimax)
John McKay (MCKAY@vax2.concordia.ca)
Sun, 05 Dec 1999 08:39:15 -0400 (EDT)
I had the pleasure of Oskar Morgenstern's acquaintance in 1966 and we
corresponded until his death. He was a friendly man of some influence in
economic circles. He gave me the impression that he was also a decisive
man who acted when he felt that economic facts were being misinterpreted.
He told me of his dealing with President Kennedy concerning the
significance of the decimal digits in the GNP (Gross National Product).
He also told of von Neumann's prodigious mind. That JvN was asked how
thick a coin need be so that the probability of its landing on its edge
is 1/3. This, he answered (using reasonable assumptions) in seconds.
[Only John Leech has done so well when I have asked!] That Goedel believed
he could drive from Princeton to California without filling up his gas
tank! I got the impression that, perhaps, OM's contribution to his book
with JvN was mainly in the more non-mathematical aspects. A great man!
He died in the summer of 1977 at Princeton of spinal cancer. By amazing
coincidence, I was in Princeton that day on a visit.
John McKay