The Story Of John Nash – In Book And Movie Form – Is The ‘Stuff Of Drama’

John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician

Legendary Princeton mathematician John Nash

The life story of John Nash, the Nobel laureate in mathematics, is indeed the stuff of drama, and it is well documented in the biography, A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar. A precocious genius, Mr. Nash was producing innovative mathematical theorems and had achieved prestigious academic honors in his twenties. He then rapidly developed a devastating psychosis characterized by multiple delusions, auditory hallucinations, and complete disruption of his ability to relate normally to associates and family.

Insulin coma therapy may have induced a remission – Thorazine definitely did – but for approximately 20 years he was, to varying degrees, a psychotic recluse. He then rather rapidly recovered and resumed his profession and normal relationships with friends and family.

There was no indication of Mr. Nash’s illness at the Nobel ceremony at which he was awarded the prize for mathematics. In television interviews, he discusses most amazingly as a dispassionate observer, his delusions and hallucinations.

John Nash developed an interest in mathematics from the time he was in high school. Having graduated from esteemed educational establishments like the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Princeton University, he revolutionized the field of equilibrium theory.

He is famous for his works on ‘Game Theory’, partial differential equations, and algebraic geometry. Not only is this mathematician’s work important in his field of study, but is also used in a wide range of subjects like artificial intelligence, politics, economics, accounting, and even biology.

Application of his ‘Game Theory’ is essential for arriving at decisions that benefit an organization and its people. Since the establishment of the validity of this field of study, eleven game theorists have been awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’.

Though glorified by his biographer, Sylvia Nasar, and Hollywood, his life has been controversial, where he has been charged with indecent conduct and has allegedly not been a very able husband and father. However, it is this talented mathematician’s fight against schizophrenia and the stigma associated with the condition, which has made him the epitome of brilliance according to many, across the world

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