A Brillant Madness: a John Nash documentary

When we think of mathematicians, the names of Aristotle, Euclid and Pythagoras as well as modern day figures like Charles Babbage, Isaac Newton and al-Khwārizmī are noted as frontrunners who made mathematics what it is today. But seldom a groundbreaking figure named John Nash is mentioned among the math geniuses. A Brilliant Madness manages to capture just that, coupled with this tumultuous private life and psychology.

John Nash was born in Virginia, a state residing in the USA, with an aptitude which was deemed ‘eccentric’ in his time. His mind had adapted to think in a way that’s different from his peers from a young age. Having enrolled in Princeton University, where he later joined as a professor, people around him have labeled him as selfish and ambitious, inferred from his social etiquette. This was reflected before in his childhood, where he was bullied for his unconventional thinking. His discovery of game theory which was based on a non-cooperative game where no player’s expected outcome improves by changing his strategy, was nothing less than a stroke of genius. Its potential remained untapped for years until it paved a way for a revolutionary change in modern economics. 

Even with his notable intelligence and originality, his private life wasn’t one of smooth sailing. After the failure of his first relationship, his second relationship, fortunately or unfortunately, led to a marriage. In his 30 years of age, his winning a Field’s medal had seen failure, and the matter coupled with a childhood choked with bullying led him to a disheveled state of mind. Signs of mindless hallucinations and unrealistic claims had manifested in John Nash, which led him to hospitalization. Misadventures followed after such, having been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and he was released after 50 days of admission. After returning to Princeton, his mind was inundated in turmoil, thus having him hospitalized again. Schizophrenic treatments that time entailed insulin coma therapy, an aggressive form of deliberately inducing a coma. Having borne its brunt for six weeks, John himself said it felt like ‘going under anesthesia’ where after that ‘you don’t remember anything.’ He was discharged from the hospital after six months. 

His private life also took a dark turn as his marriage crumbled, and he had traveled to Europe. His colleagues from Princeton, upon setting up meetings with a psychiatrist, seemed to have improved his situation. He stopped taking medication and an epiphany dawned upon him, striving to be better which clearly showed itself in his demeanor. 

Along his miraculous pace to recovery, game theory was being used extensively from day to day life, in simple games like poker to much more complex contexts like world trade. Its popularity made scientists forecast a Nobel win for John Nash in the 1980s, which didn’t happen. His mental health was a poor excuse for the Nobel Committee to defer his prize until a decade later. At the age of 66, a much healthier John Nash received his Nobel Prize for game theory in 1994. 

John Nash’s story is nothing less than awe-inspiring. The struggle surrounding his private life and mental health left him in a state of disequilibrium. His discovery of game theory changed the course of modern economics all the while dwelling in an adversity which he was unaware of until later in life. The world of economics owes John Nash a lot, yet his contribution is something which cannot be reciprocated equally.