A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind

by

Sylvia Nasar

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on A Beautiful Mind makes teaching easy.
Milnor, a math student at Princeton during John Nash’s year there, is “the most brilliant freshman in the history of the Princeton mathematics department.” He is a “tall, lithe” young man “with a baby face and the body of a gymnast.” Milnor is one of the few students Nash chooses to interact with, believing Milnor to be more gifted than other Princeton mathematicians; indeed, Milnor goes on to become a highly successful mathematician, winning the top three mathematical prizes in the world. In 1952, Milnor and Nash travel across the country to Santa Monica, where both men are working for the summer; Milnor later claimed that Nash made a “sexual overture” toward him, and it is possible that Nash had romantic feelings for Milnor.

John Milnor Quotes in A Beautiful Mind

The A Beautiful Mind quotes below are all either spoken by John Milnor or refer to John Milnor. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mental Illness, Recovery, and the Quest for Knowledge Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

Nash was always on the lookout for problems. “He was very much aware of unsolved problems,” said Milnor. “He really cross-examined people on what were the important problems. It showed a tremendous amount of ambition.” In this search, as in so much else, Nash displayed an uncommon measure of self-confidence and self-importance. On one occasion, not long after his arrival at Princeton, he went to see Einstein and sketched some ideas he had for amending quantum theory.

Related Characters: Sylvia Nasar (speaker), John Forbes Nash Jr., John Milnor, Albert Einstein
Page Number: 69-70
Explanation and Analysis:
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A Beautiful Mind PDF

John Milnor Quotes in A Beautiful Mind

The A Beautiful Mind quotes below are all either spoken by John Milnor or refer to John Milnor. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mental Illness, Recovery, and the Quest for Knowledge Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

Nash was always on the lookout for problems. “He was very much aware of unsolved problems,” said Milnor. “He really cross-examined people on what were the important problems. It showed a tremendous amount of ambition.” In this search, as in so much else, Nash displayed an uncommon measure of self-confidence and self-importance. On one occasion, not long after his arrival at Princeton, he went to see Einstein and sketched some ideas he had for amending quantum theory.

Related Characters: Sylvia Nasar (speaker), John Forbes Nash Jr., John Milnor, Albert Einstein
Page Number: 69-70
Explanation and Analysis: