Stanislaw Ulam vs. Arthur Eddington
Side-by-side comparison of two thinkers
Stanislaw Ulam
1909 – 1984
Stanisław Marcin Ulam was a Polish-American mathematician who made important contributions in advancing the understanding of nuclear physics and computer science. He participated in the Manhattan Project, originated the Teller–Ulam design of thermonuclear weapons, recognised the concept of the cellular automaton, invented the Monte Carlo method of computation, and championed nuclear pulse propulsion. In pure and applied mathematics, he proved a number of theorems and proposed several conjectures.
"In mathematics, as in physics, so much depends on chance, on a propitious moment."
Arthur Eddington
1882 – 1944
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, was an English astrophysicist and mathematician. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, or the radiation generated by accretion onto a compact object, is named in his honour.
"Theological or anti-theological argument to prove or disprove the existence of a deity seems to me to occupy itself largely with skating among the difficulties …"
Connections
Both wrote about: