Losing Grip On Reality
As one of the most brilliant minds in the world of mathematics, John Nash made unimaginable strides in the field, earning him no shortage of acclaim and a place in history forever. However, while he aimed to solve any problem he came across, this became all the more difficult as his own mind began to fail him. Even so, he dedicated every waking moment to unraveling these mathematical mysteries—right until his tragic end.
1. He Took After Her
From the beginning, it was clear that John Forbes Nash Jr was born with a mind that could tackle any problem, and enthusiastically so, but he didn’t get this brilliance out of nowhere. Born John Forbes Nash Jr in 1928, his parents took a special interest in his education, especially since his mother previously worked as a schoolteacher. Before long, it became clear that he inherited a love of learning from her.
And naturally, they wanted him to learn as much as he could—even outside his formal schooling.
2. They Wanted Him To Learn
John wasn’t much different from other children at first, and like the others, his parents placed him in both kindergarten and public school. However, as soon as he showed a capacity and desire to learn more, both his parents and even his grandparents started giving him books to read, notably including an encyclopedia.
Even with that, thought, they felt the need to push harder.
3. He Had Extra Help
From his extended studies, John had clearly advanced well beyond his other classmates by the time he reached high school. Noticing this, his parents hoped to elevate his education even further and had him enroll in an advanced math course at Bluefield College, which he balanced with his high school studies in his senior year.
Still, he wasn’t quite sure yet where this would all take him—so he went with the easiest choice.
4. He Wanted To Be Like Him
Although John had an impressive aptitude for learning, he wasn’t sure how he wanted to use his education, but he knew he looked up to his parents. Therefore, when he was growing up and had to write an essay about his potential career, he simply took after his father and imagined he would choose the same occupation, an electrical engineer.
However, this changed once he went to college—though not to the career one might expect.
5. He Picked A Major
With his academic achievements, John earned himself the George Westinghouse Scholarship, which allowed him to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology on a full-ride. Although he had initially believed he might take up his father’s career, he soon changed his mind and chose a major in chemical engineering instead.
As it happened, this wouldn’t be the last time he reconsidered his future.
6. He Switched It Up
While John Nash had chosen his major early on in his college career, it wasn’t as if that was his calling, and he soon began to rethink what he actually wanted to do. Eventually, he took the plunge and changed to a chemistry major, but this wasn’t the last time that would happen. Before long, he received some advice from a teacher of his and found his true purpose, switching to a major in mathematics.
Even then, the end of his studies still proved a very long way off.
7. He Continued His Education
Settling on his final major, John graduated with both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in mathematics in 1948, but he was nowhere near finished with his education. Enrolling at Princeton University, he had the opportunity to join a fellowship and continue studying science and mathematics.
To do so, however, he needed someone to vouch for him—but that wasn’t a problem.
8. He Was Impressed
Although John Nash had joined the fellowship at Princeton by accepting an offer from them, it certainly didn’t hurt that his teachers were willing to stick their necks out for him, especially Professor Richard Duffin. In a recommendation letter for the young graduate, the professor gushed about his potential, stating plainly that John was a “mathematical genius”.
Even with that stellar recommendation, other people still competed for John's attention.
9. They Wanted Him More
With John’s impressive reputation in the academic world, Princeton certainly wasn’t the only institution reaching out to him, as those like the University of Chicago and even Harvard wanted him on board. However, since Princeton’s chairman of the mathematics department offered him a fellowship himself, John felt like they were much more interested in him.
Now that he had made his choice, it was time for him to change the world.
10. He Started His Work
Taking his place in the John S Kennedy fellowship at Princeton, John Nash had the freedom and resources to chase whatever mathematical endeavor he wished, and he already had something cooking. Starting work on one of the theories that would put his name in the history books, he laid the groundwork for what would eventually become Nash’s Equilibrium.
However, he was still relatively inexperienced—and it showed in his work.
11. He Didn’t Have All Of It
Although his accomplishments had earned him recognition in the academic world, John was still relatively new to the international mathematical community, but that didn’t stop his ambition. Presenting a paper at the 1950 International Congress of Mathematicians, he demonstrated a new result in the field of algebraic geometry. No one could deny that his work was impressive, but it was still unpolished and lacked the actual details of its proof.
It didn’t matter, as all his work paid off in the end—when he added another diploma to his wall.
12. He Wrote His Dissertation
Continuing his work on Nash’s Equilibrium, John Nash spent the better part of 1950 finishing his dissertation paper, which covered the theory extensively. In 28 pages, he elaborated on noncooperative games and everything he had done to further the study, earning himself a PhD for his achievements.
With this, he contributed to what would become the greatest work of his life.
13. He Added To A Theory
The concept of “game theory” had existed for a few decades already, since a mathematician named John von Neumann established it back in 1928, but it wasn’t above improvement—enter John Nash. With his own ideas, such as Nash’s Equilibrium and, eventually, the Nash bargaining solution, he advanced the study of the concept and ultimately transformed it.
Meanwhile, his academic work wasn’t the only thing improving in his life.
14. He Met Someone
John’s professional life was already looking up by 1951, as he received an offer to work as an instructor at MIT, but something else was about to change his life for the better as well. About a year after joining MIT, he met a nurse named Eleanor Stier, and the two felt a spark that soon turned into a whirlwind romance.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t a happily ever after—for either of them.
15. He Ran Away
While John and Eleanor may have seemed happy on the surface, he never managed to move past his more harmful misconceptions and always believed she was inferior because she was from a lower social status. He could have left her at any moment, but to make matters worse, he only chose to abandon her once she told him she was carrying his child.
Strangely enough, he was about to find himself in an even bigger dilemma—this time with the law.
16. He Was In Trouble
By 1954, John Nash was doing quite well for himself and putting his degrees to good use, especially working as a consultant for the RAND Corporation—but he was in for some trouble. Unknown to him, law enforcement had been performing a sting operation, specifically harassing gay men. Somehow, he became involved with this investigation, and the authorities took him into custody on a charge of indecent exposure.
Luckily for him, this didn’t stick—but that didn’t mean he got off scot-free.
17. He Was Let Off
The exact details of what happened leading to John’s arrest aren’t completely clear, but regardless, it wasn’t long before the authorities released him after dropping the charges. John had avoided further issues with the law, but he hadn’t come away unscathed, as he lost his job at the RAND Corporation because of this.
As it happened, his love life was already bouncing back behind the scenes.
18. He Found Someone Else
It took no time at all for John Nash to move on from the relationship he had abandoned, and soon enough, he was in his next one with a woman named Alicia Lardé Lopez-Harrison. As a physicist herself, John likely felt they were better matched as she had much more in common with him than his previous lover, especially since she had been one of his students at MIT.
This time, the two of them would go the distance—and he was already a better partner.
19. He Accommodated Her
John soon realized that Alicia was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, so in 1957, the two of them took the next step and tied the knot. However, for all their similarities, they differed on one major subject—faith. John was a staunch atheist, but as it made his bride happy, he agreed to marry her in an Episcopal church.
Of course, this didn’t distract him from his work in mathematics—and he was on to something big.
20. He Made History
John Nash had already contributed to mathematics in a way that etched his name in its history, but that wasn’t enough. Always on the lookout for his next project, he soon discovered another theory that said any Riemannian manifold is isometric to a submanifold of Euclidean space. Devoting all his efforts to this problem, he managed to prove the conjecture—something many consider one of the greatest mathematical achievements of recent history.
It seemed like his life couldn't get any better—but that was when everything went downhill.
21. He Took A Better Gig
John had remained busy throughout the 1950s in various jobs, all while still devoting his time to MIT—a dedication that would soon pay off. Although he had never needed to worry about unemployment, he found job security nonetheless when MIT offered him a tenured position in 1958. However, something malicious was happening behind the scenes—and inside his own mind.
Whatever it was, it was fundamentally changing his way of thinking—and he didn’t even know it.
22. He Wasn’t Well
By the following year, John and Alicia were expecting their first child, but while he wouldn’t realize the truth of this until later, he was slowly growing more and more unstable. Reflecting on this period later in life, he believed the signs first began presenting themselves in early 1958, and that they had clearly pointed to a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
As time went on, his thoughts only became more unhinged—and straight-up bizarre.
23. He Was Terrified
What began as a mounting feeling of paranoia eventually transformed into more shocking behavior, as Alicia would later describe that his temperament had grown increasingly erratic. He soon started to see patterns where none existed, including among any men who happened to wear a red tie, which he believed signified them as members of a “crypto-communist party” bent on destroying him.
Unfortunately, even he wasn’t exempt from his own twisted perception.
24. He Was Delusional
John’s imagination truly ran wild as his mental state continued to decline, but not all the ideas he concocted were about those around him—especially since he had quite the ego. While it was never clear why, John believed he was a savior or messenger on a divine mission, and that as a result, he had no shortage of enemies.
Sadly, he soon began acting on these delusions—and getting the attention of some important people.
25. He Sent Them Messages
John Nash not only believed he had a greater purpose in life, including a royal throne, but also that others should recognize his authority—no matter who they were. Exposing his condition, he sent letters to several embassies in Washington, DC, in which he revealed his plans to assume his rightful place as “Emperor of Antarctica”.
Things only grew worse with time, especially as he lost his identity completely.
26. He Became Someone Else
When reflecting on this period of his life in later years, John often theorized that the delusions he experienced stemmed from a place of deep discontent, and specifically the fear that no one would recognize his accomplishments. However, as his condition grew worse, even he began to lose his sense of self, frequently referring to himself in the third person as someone named “Johann von Nassau”.
Despite such a pervasive condition, John and his wife tried to keep it private—but it couldn’t stay a secret forever.
27. They Caught On
As the symptoms of his deteriorating mental state became more and more severe, John Nash still tried to maintain some semblance of normalcy, continuing to work and lecture when he could. However, it was only a matter of time before this part of his life was also affected. During one lesson at Columbia University, the audience quickly grew concerned when they could hardly understand him as he devolved into muddled ramblings.
Finally, his wife realized they couldn’t ignore his illness forever.
28. He Needed Help
Due to the common view of mental health in the 1950s—as well as John’s own pride, likely—he and Alicia had been trying to ignore his worsening condition in the hopes it would get better on its own. Eventually, though, they reached a point when they couldn’t avoid dealing with it any longer, and he underwent a month-long treatment at McLean Hospital, where he officially received a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Around the same time, he had one of the greatest moments in his life happen—even if he missed it.
29. She Waited For Him
Whether he was facing his demons outside of the hospital or busy getting treatment, John Nash was clearly not in the best state to make any big decisions, or even fully appreciate when something big happened in his life. As such, when his and Alicia’s son was born around the same time he began treatment, Alicia felt it would be best to wait for John to get better before naming him, meaning that their child remained nameless for about a year.
Even then, that didn’t mean he had found all the help he needed.
30. He Continued His Treatment
In the end, John’s stay at McLean Hospital didn’t do much to help his condition except for confirming the diagnosis, so he was back in another institution by 1961. Entering the New Jersey State Hospital, he received regular anti-psychotic medications and underwent typical procedures of the time, including insulin shock therapy.
Unsurprisingly, these treatments weren’t the cure-all many thought they were.
31. He Wasn’t Alone
John’s family hoped that these treatments might help turn back the clock to how he was before, but after a few years, his issues only seemed to be getting worse. While he had mostly been the victim of various delusions up to this point, he suddenly claimed he began hearing voices that weren’t there, even though he tried his best to ignore them.
Eventually, beyond all hope, things were starting to look up—at first.
32. He Was Doing Better
Although he was experiencing auditory hallucinations already, a miracle happened in the mid-1960s, when he suddenly seemed like he was on the mend. His condition improved so much that he returned to work and continued his mathematical endeavors—but this didn’t last. Before the decade was over, he sadly relapsed, and his delusions once again started taking over.
It also didn’t help that he was refusing some of the treatments that might have actually helped him.
33. He Didn’t Want Medicine
While he spent no shortage of time in hospitals, John Nash always maintained that this was against his will, and he became a very difficult patient—no matter the treatment. This stubbornness extended to his medication as well, and he only ever accepted the medicine prescribed to him when he felt forced to. When it was up to him, he adamantly declined any such remedies, going so far as to refuse all medication from 1970 onward.
Sadly, he wasn’t the only one this was taking a toll on.
34. She Still Helped Him
Alicia still loved John, but she couldn’t handle watching him struggle with his illness, especially when his own stubbornness kept him from seeking further treatment. Ultimately, she filed for divorce in 1963, but that didn’t mean she stopped caring for him altogether. In 1970, when he finally left the last hospital stay of his life, she allowed him to live with her while he got back on his feet.
Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one who accepted him in this trying time.
35. They Let Him Stay
Now out of the hospital, John had to work on his recovery by himself, which he did manage—slowly but surely. Something that helped immensely was getting back into a familiar routine, as Alicia suggested he spend more time at Princeton, and he thought it was a wonderful idea. Fortunately, those at the college felt similarly and allowed him to resume his research in the mathematics center—known as Fine Hall.
Still, it’s not like they could ignore him completely.
36. He Was A Legend
Although the faculty at Princeton welcomed John Nash back with open arms, he wasn’t exactly on the payroll and more or less tended to his own research. The most that the staff and students would see of him was when he would go around the building in the middle of the night, scrawling strange equations across the various blackboards. As such, many playfully referred to him as “The Phantom of Fine Hall”.
Thankfully, he would eventually be able to look back on his illness with some clarity.
37. He Had A Metaphor
Later in his life, John recalled the many years when his illness was at its worst and tried to express to others exactly what his experience was during that time, viewing it with a clearer mind. When explaining what it was like to become what many at the time considered “insane,” he once said that the feeling of being abnormal and isolated was similar to going on some sort of economic strike.
In case he needed a reminder of how far he had come, he would soon have it.
38. They Celebrated Him
Since the time in his life when he did some of his earliest and most significant work, John had endured much and overcome countless obstacles to continue fulfilling his true purpose—and the world knew it. For his monumental contributions to game theory, including the development of Nash’s Equilibrium, he received the John von Neumann Theory Prize in 1978.
Beyond this, he was about to realize just how many people admired him.
39. He Met Some Friends
Although John had always sought recognition for his early work, he was never satisfied with it being his only source of relevance, and he was always exploring new ideas and projects. This led him to the new concept of email, with which he created a network with other mathematicians, who were all eager to see what the great John Nash was working on.
Little did he know that these friendships would come in handy in more ways than one.
40. They Stuck Up For Him
By the mid-1990s, despite decades of illness and isolation, John hadn’t vanished from the spotlight—and he was up for another major award. However, his history of mental illness became an issue for the award committee, which was hesitant to give him the honor he deserved. In response, many of the mathematicians he had met online came to his aid, attesting that John was of perfectly sound mind and body.
Luckily for him, this worked better than they could have hoped.
41. He Got Another Award
Against all odds, the makeshift support campaign by John’s internet friends managed to sway the opinions of those on the award committee, who decided John was the perfect recipient. Therefore, to honor his work at Princeton in the field of game theory, they awarded him the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
As it turned out, that wasn’t the only miracle John witnessed around this time.
42. They Picked Back Up
Witnessing the decline of her husband had been much too difficult for Alicia to endure, but now that he had long since recovered and was back to doing what he loved, she saw something in him that she hadn’t in a long time. It also helped that they had spent much of the last several years together as friends, but this soon blossomed into romance again, and the two remarried in 2001.
Even at this point, the world hadn’t finished recognizing John for all his accomplishments.
43. He Received Honors
Throughout his life, John earned a bachelor’s, master’s, and a doctorate through his hard work and contributions, but these weren’t the last of his diplomas. Institutions around the world were eager to celebrate him, and he eventually received six honorary degrees—some from American universities and others from international ones, including in Italy and Hong Kong.
Still, one of the biggest honors he received came from a completely different industry.
44. They Used His Story
John’s career in mathematics and struggle through mental illness became such an inspiring story to one author in particular, Sylvia Nasar, that she took on the task of writing his biography—titled A Beautiful Mind. Published in 1998, the novel found its way to director Ron Howard, who thought the story was just as compelling and adapted it into the classic of the same name in 2001, with Russel Crowe playing John.
Of course, this wasn’t what anyone would call truly authentic.
45. They Got It Wrong
Although the film A Beautiful Mind told the tale of John’s life and many of his severe highs and lows with amazing storytelling, it wasn’t a completely factual biopic, as many have pointed out. One of the most glaring inaccuracies often criticized is that, while it portrays his marriage to Alicia, it completely ignores his first major relationship—the one he abandoned.
Nonetheless, John turned out to be right about one thing—though most wouldn’t know until later.
46. He Saw Them Coming
Although this wasn’t common knowledge, it was later revealed that John had done more than revolutionize mathematics in his time—he predicted the future. After the NSA declassified a collection of letters he had written in the 1950s, the public discovered he had proposed several concepts in cryptography that wouldn’t emerge until a few decades later.
Even now that he was in his 80s, he hadn’t seen the last of his awards.
47. He Traveled Abroad
As far down the line as 2015, the global community still hadn’t finished giving awards to John for all his work, one of which took him all the way across the world once again. Visiting Norway in May that year, John and his wife had the privilege of meeting King Harald V, who presented John with the prestigious Abel Prize.
Although certainly exciting, he and Alicia likely wanted nothing more than to get home and rest—but fate had other plans.
48. They Were Going Home
After a lovely time in Norway, both John and his wife were happy to return to the comfort of their home, arriving back in Newark Airport on May 23, 2015—but this was when everything went horribly wrong. Calling a taxi back to their house, the elderly couple’s ride took a turn for the worse when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Unfortunately, such a violent end could have been avoided—if not for one mistake.
49. They Lost Their Lives
The driver of the couple’s taxi tried to regain control of the car, but he couldn’t avoid steering straight into a guard rail. Unfortunately, neither John nor Alicia was wearing their seatbelts during this ride, and they were instantly thrown from the vehicle, with both tragically perishing on impact.
They left behind their son—who turned out to be a chip off the old block.
50. He Was Like His Father
John Nash had suffered through the terror of his mental illness and recovered, remaining an icon within the mathematical community long after completing his most significant work. While he sadly wouldn’t live to see it, his son would take after him in more ways than one. Like his father, John Charles Martin Nash would receive a schizophrenia diagnosis—but just the same—he didn’t let it stop him, and later earned himself his own PhD in mathematics.
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