John von Neumann Quotes:
Ocupation: Mathematician
Life: December 28, 1903 - February 8, 1957
Birthday: December 28
Death: February 8
By and large it is uniformly true in mathematics that there is a time lapse between a mathematical discovery and the moment when it is useful; and that this lapse of time can be anything from 30 to 100 years, in some cases even more; and that the whole system seems to function without any direction, without any reference to usefulness, and without any desire to do things which are useful.
source: "The Role of Mathematics in the Sciences and in Society". John von Neumann's address to Princeton alumni (1954) as quoted in "John von Neumann: Collected Works" edited by A. H. Taub, 1963.
topic: Years, Discovery, Desire, Time Lapse
