View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who was in charge of the Air Force when it provided funding to RAND?
(a) Truman.
(b) Eisenhower.
(c) MacArthur.
(d) LeMay.

2. In what year was von Neumann invited to join the Manhattan Project?
(a) 1943.
(b) 1912.
(c) 1954.
(d) 1946.

3. In the game prisoner's dilemma the police separate the two criminals into ______ .
(a) Interrogation rooms.
(b) A stark cellar.
(c) Prison cells.
(d) Transfer rooms.

4. Who developed a mathematical way to extend von Neumann's game theory beyond the original game theory insights?
(a) David Hilbert.
(b) Merrill Flood.
(c) John Nash.
(d) Kurt Godel.

5. Shortly after earning his PhD in mathematics, von Neumann moved to what country for a teaching position?
(a) The United States.
(b) Israel.
(c) Brazil.
(d) Germany.

6. What was the bomb called that von Neumann developed which became the basis for later nuclear device development?
(a) The ICBMs.
(b) The "fat man" bomb.
(c) The "trapdoor."
(d) The "bully" bomb.

7. Kriegspiel is what is termed an "____" information game.
(a) Imperfect.
(b) Infinite.
(c) Calculated.
(d) Finite.

8. Game theory as developed by von Neumann revolutionized a variety of fields not just mathematics, but economics, biology and ___.
(a) Philosophy.
(b) Probability.
(c) Physics.
(d) Topology.

9. John von Neumann developed game theory partly as an alternative foundation to what?
(a) Economics.
(b) Physics.
(c) Probability.
(d) Human behavior.

10. Who originally suggested the RAND Corporation as a research and development institute?
(a) General Douglas MacArthur.
(b) Douglas Aircraft.
(c) President Truman.
(d) I.A.S.

11. How long do the people, each in separate rooms have to decide about pushing the button before the choice is taken away from them?
(a) 15 minutes.
(b) 1 day.
(c) 4 hours.
(d) 1 hour.

12. Despite escalating armaments the Cold War ended without _____.
(a) U.N. mediation.
(b) Human rights violations.
(c) A nuclear exchange.
(d) A bio-weapon exchange.

13. What was the first name of von Neumann's first wife?
(a) Marilyn.
(b) Mariette.
(c) Marianne.
(d) Margaret.

14. In prisoner's dilemma a ____ action will be bad for both parties,which is a problem game theory seeks to understand.
(a) Simple.
(b) Irrational.
(c) Rational.
(d) Selfish.

15. In the prisoner's dilemma, what do both criminals have to do in order to be set free by the police?
(a) Keep quiet.
(b) Wait for their lawyers then confess.
(c) Confess.
(d) Tell lies about each other.

Short Answer Questions

1. During von Neumann's time on the Princeton social scene, he attended numerous parties and his drink of choice was what?

2. What was the first name of von Neumann's second wife?

3. Who had John Stuart Mill briefly as a tutor?

4. The RAND institute at one time had every great U.S. and free world mathematician, physicist and ____ working there.

5. John von Neumann was from a family of ___ Jews.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 411 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample