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As easy as it is to admire intelligence it's really motivation which is key, which is the admirable thing about people. VN could have accomplished far more if he'd been less concerned with prestige, academies, spy stuff, and so on. If he'd opted to isolate himself a bit more. Like his colleague Godel, or like Grothendieck.

Then there would have been many more theorems bearing his name:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_theorems

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By most accounts Gödel lived an anxious, unhappy life. He died, basically, from paranoia.

Not to say that von Neumann lived a happy life — he sounds like a bit of an asshole — but I wonder whether Gödel would have traded his achievements for less isolation and a less tortured existence?

Yes, I wonder too. Yet isolation does seem to be a component of creative achievement.

Feynman would be another example like Von Neumann. Off-the-charts intelligence and admired for his intelligence, his honesty and sense of adventure. But limited creative output due apparently to his pursuit of sex and intrigue.

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