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In Memorium: John Nash
I want to take note of John Nash’s death this weekend. Nash was a pivotal figure in several disciplines, and was the subject of the movie A Beautiful Mind. He was a man who suffered mental illness, and at times the suffering was severe.
I came across his work by studying game theory, in which his theory of “Nash equilibrium” is a basic building block. His equilibrium is what allows us to predict rational behavior (although it can’t predict whether the players are rational). The short version is that there are situations in which a person is rational to choose a particular strategy, regardless of what the other players do. That’s what makes that strategy predictable.
The genius, really, was in the simplicity of it. Some of the greatest geniuses became geniuses because they took some subject that had baffled people previously, but they were able to present it in such a way that everyone who followed said, “of course.” Nash was one of those guys.
I’ll leave it to others to explain his work in other fields, if they desire. I’ve studied his game theory work, but he was a major thinker in every discipline that involves decision-making, including economics, biology, mathematics, and others.
Here I just want to praise the man. His passing provokes us to honor his contributions, and to admire the contributor. Though the event of his passing is tragic, I pray that he and his wife finally rest in peace.
Published in Culture
Thanks, KC.
I don’t know much about game theory or most math areas in general, but I have learned a great deal about perseverance. Linda, if you know her story, is one such person. John Nash and his wife are a study in perseverance. They saw the gift that God had bestowed on John, and lived a life determined to allow that gift to thrive and contribute to man’s knowledge.
The movie version, A Beautiful mind, engaged the viewer from inside Nash’s mind, and showed how greatness can overcome.
Thank you. Not having studied his work, and being skeptical of the Nobel prize and hagiographic films, I welcome explanations tailored to the lay-person.
Thanks for posting this; very interesting.
At one point in his illness, Nash would go through the newspaper and circle all of the Jewish-sounding names. Thank God no one handed him a copy of Variety, or the Hollywood Reporter; it would have blown a 50 amp fuse…
The logic of most experimentation is an if-then statement: if [the hypothesis] is true, then [some associated statement] is also true. The ordinary scientist then goes out to test the associated statement, which rebounds back to prove or disprove the hypothesis.
But the explorers use their imagination. If the hypothesis is true, what else would also have to be true? Instead of merely rebounding back to the original statement, the explorers exploit each truth to reveal others.
I mean, sure, if all you’re trying to do is prove one statement, the scientific method is useful. But the explorers are the guys who combine their imagination with the method’s discipline to go from truth to truth. In other words, the scientific method alone isn’t enough for an explorer; you need a vivid imagination to fuel that adventure, that compulsion for discovery.
Nash had that imagination. Whether he had too much of it, and whether it pushed him into occasional madness, that’s for a psychologist to answer. But I marvel at how often he could take one truth and let it reveal more to follow.
If I may also draw attention to this section of the article:
We rightfully admire men like Nash and Hawking for their grit and perseverance in the face of immense obstacles. But they do not persevere alone (and yes, if circumstances had been different…)
Yes indeed.
Well-said, KC!
Sylvia Nasar’s biography is well worth the read. Nash was a much more complex and fascinating person than depicted in the film. I was shocked to hear of his death. Indeed, we know neither the day nor the hour….
Dear Editors, it’s neither in memorandum nor in memorium, but in memoriam.