The true story of John Nash, the tormented genius

We first met John Nash because he won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994. Then, thanks to the film “An amazing mind” or “A Beautiful Mind”, which was based on a book of the same name and revealed the extraordinary story behind this mathematical genius.

John Forbes Nash was born on June 13, 1928 in a small town in Virginia, United States. Since he was a child he showed that he had a character introverted and did not have many social skills, hence he spent a lonely childhood and adolescence. He played little with the other children, but he was very curious about books. His mother, far from discouraging him, encouraged him to cultivate his intellect.

Contrary to what one might think and in line with what has happened with many other geniuses, John Nash did not stand out for his grades at school. His clumsiness in dealing with others was such that there were several teachers who doubted him. his intellectual capacity. There was no shortage of those who suggested a slight delay. Nevertheless, Nash loved doing scientific experiments in the privacy of his room.

John Nash, a “strange” boy

When I was a teenager, John Nash began to show interest for mathematics, but especially for chemistry. It is said that he was involved in the manufacture of some explosives that detonated by mistake and caused a death at his school.

In 1945, Nash won a scholarship to enter the Institute of Technology. He was going to study chemical engineering, but the head of the mathematics department, John Synge, convinced him to specialize in numbers. In 1948 he graduated as a mathematician and obtained a scholarship to Princeton to do a postgraduate degree.

In 1949, while preparing his doctorate, he wrote the article for which he won the Nobel Prize, almost 50 years later. His thesis was titled “Non-Cooperative Games.” He then went to work at the RAND Corporation, an entity that carried out scientific studies applicable to the Cold War. Two years later he began working as a teacher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The shadow of schizophrenia

Up to that point, the story is similar to the one told in the film, but from this point on the events occur differently from how they were presented in the film. John Nash had an illegitimate son with Eleanor Stier. This caused a big scandal in his family. Shortly after this, his father died. Besides, In 1954, Nash was arrested in a homosexual raid. That’s why he was fired from his job..

In 1957, Nash married Alicia Larde, a student of his of Salvadoran origin. He had a son with her, but shortly before he was born, the two divorced. Nash had schizophrenia and Alicia couldn’t tolerate it.. Since then, Nash began a journey throughout Europe, where he tried to obtain political refugee status.

He never had visual hallucinations, but he did have auditory hallucinations. He believed that he was a chosen one, a religious figure. At the same time, he felt that there was a plot orchestrated by the Soviet Union and the Vatican against him. “I began to hear something like phone calls ringing in my brain, from people opposed to my ideas.”he declared.

Nash, an example of a cure for schizophrenia

John Nash regained his senses in an event that many classified as a miracle. After eight hospitalizations in various mental care centers and after having been subjected to a high dose of medication and aggressive treatments that included electroshocks. According to his own testimony, at one point in his life he decided to stop paying attention to the voices he heard..

This math genius stopped taking the medications he had been prescribed one day. In an interview with Xavi Ayén, he states that there is a point at which medicines do more harm than good, but that to stop taking them it is necessary to be very careful, since it is dangerous. However, he abandoned the treatment and a few years later he was cured..

Alicia, his ex-wife, with whom he returned to live for a while after becoming ill, assures that in Nash’s case there is nothing that can be called a miracle. He stated that “It’s all about leading a quiet life”.

In 1996, the president of the World Psychiatric Association, Felice Lieh Mak, presented it as “a symbol of hope, an explorer of a universe without limits, that of the human mind”. The most encouraging, yet disconcerting, thing is that his story is proof that schizophrenia does not have to mark the end of a life. At the same time, it constitutes encouragement for all those seeking more effective therapies.

Nash’s legacy

The “game theory” is, without a doubt, his most important legacy. The application of this theory transcends borders and can be applied in business, politics, biology, etc. What does it consist of? Let’s imagine that two or more individuals have to make a decision taking into consideration the choices of others. None of them know the conditions of their companions or the decision they are going to make. So, how to choose the best decision so as not to be harmed? The application of this theory is at a statistical level

From this theory we seek to create a balance. If this theory is applied to the business sector, it could mean that the objective is obtain the greatest benefit by reducing the risks. Herein lies the importance of Nash’s legacy. How could several companies play their cards in the best possible way without knowing the movements of their rivals?

TO micro levelFor example, in a neighborhood, two stores that sell the same product can rely on intuition to modify their prices or put new products on sale. However, to macro level As large multinationals they leave nothing to chance. They have an entire team to analyze the risk of decisions, as well as investigate the competition and study the market.

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