d of turing and von neumann. you say many decades later we still face the same questions. turing's question was what it would take for machines to begin to think, von neumann's was what it would take for machines to begin to reproduce. >> right. >> now, the notion of a replicating computer is in your book. you talk about that both logically and practically. what do you think the implications are? >> well, it's what happened. that's why we ended up with silicon valley because these machines became, effectively, self-replicating. nobody's there in a workshop making computers, they're replicating themselves, and i think that's why this von neumann machine is so important. even though there were other machines everywhere else, because it's the one that became the pattern, it's bigelow's machine that the chip factories that used to be right here, you know, make millions of every day. >> so is organism the word? is that the word to apply to it? >> no. i'm more interested in codes than organisms and that's what, you kno

>> von neumann? this. that's what i discovered from most remarkable body of documents i found was in marina von neumann's basement, next to a water heater, a filing cabinet. and then there you know, von neumann's known papers with elaborate of congress. this filing cabinet didn't go. and in the bottom drawer was all the handwritten correspondence between johnny and his wife from 1937 -- package a day by day firsthand picture of what people were really thinking at the time. >> he was using that as just a means of eating this out, right clicks his correspondence with her? >> it was like e-mail to us what he was at a full day of meetings and solving problems and still write 16 pages in fountain pen. they had a difficult marriage but they're always in different places because she was doing the coding for these early bomb calculation. so she might be working on a eniac in aberdeen and he would be in los alamos, these letters went back and forth. >> did you know that this, this secret trove of letters -- >> i co

von neumann.s is not george dyson's first attempt to help us understand both a technical and human level the way that we coexist and cocreate with computing. he is the author among darwin of the machines as well and two other books also and he writes frequently on the subject. this is not totally his day job. as you may know, he is in addition to being a scientist, a historian,, and author, able builder and designer from his home in bellingham, washington. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming george dyson. [applause] [applause] [applause] thank you very much. >> it's great to have you here. >> thank you. >> welcome. so glad to have you here, george. >> this is a fantastic exhibit. >> thank you very much. we are delighted you are here. you are among friends. these are your people, george. we are going to have some fun tonight. let's talk about the practice of writing the book. you have an intensely personal connection to princeton and the advanced best the institute of advanced study,

von neumann.s is not george dyson's first attempt to help us understand both a technical and human level the way that we coexist and cocreate with computing. he is the author among darwin of the machines as well and two other books also and he writes frequently on the subject. this is not totally his day job. as you may know, he is in addition to being a scientist, a historian,, and author, able builder and designer from his home in bellingham, washington. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming george dyson. [applause] [applause] [applause] thank you very much. >> it's great to have you here. >> thank you. >> welcome. so glad to have you here, george. >> this is a fantastic exhibit. >> thank you very much. we are delighted you are here. you are among friends. these are your people, george. we are going to have some fun tonight. let's talk about the practice of writing the book. you have an intensely personal connection to princeton and the advanced best the institute of advanced study,

pardons that the von neumanns gave. they invited a computer group to go and i wore my prettiest black dress. as i say i had bright red hair and i got to dance with j. robert oppenheimer. can anybody else say that? [laughter] >> thank you so much. [applause] >> one other quick thing. you were telling me earlier that you were thinking of writing your memoir, talk about that and especially the title. >> today i don't think young women are called secretaries. they are called administrative assistants. they have pretty fancy titles. but in 1946 i was only the secretary. and i think that is what i want to tidal my little memoir because you can do a lot of good as a secretary. i don't say you are very important but they need you. all of you probably have had secretaries. were they important to you? >> yes. [applause] >> i also have a wonderful experience. i was sidney hope's secretary at nyu. when i needed a job i went to eniac academic institution because that was my experience and i had great experience as being only the sec

presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont and honolulu, neumann's own foundation and union bank. >> at union bank, our ritch managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in. working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> a meeting of minds. g-8 leaders gathering after questions remain how to solve the euro crisis. >> the stock market roller coaster. facebook shares trade for the first time. but is it valued for money? >> hello. welcome to "bbc word" broadcasting to america and also around the globe. coming up a little later for you amid the worries of the financial crisis the spain, we have been to madrid to gauge the nation's mood. and burn it like beckham. the olympic torch has arrived in london for the torch relay. >> hello again, world leaders are beginning their talking in the united states, talks that will be dominated by the crisis in the euro zone. they are expect

and when herman goldstein moved from that project to ias to work directly with john von neumann and a team there, he went with him and had a very distinguished career doing far, far more than simply being a secretary to herman goldstein. she was there at the creation and she's traveled from alice byrd tonight to be a for this program. would you please stand up? i thought that. >> you are so tiny, i saw people in the back sort of straining to see. we're delighted to hear and we may even take a few questions for the q&a session to give like to ask quet