Mental Illness, Recovery, and the Quest for Knowledge
A Beautiful Mind is the biography of acclaimed mathematician John Nash, who suffers from fits of delusion that severely hamper his career as a mathematician. Nash experiences a meteoric rise to fame and develops what biographer Sylvia Nasar calls “one of the most influential ideas of the twentieth century,” a crucial development in mathematical theory. Yet at the age of 30, he begins to experience severe schizophrenic episodes that derail his career. Nash is…
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Genius, Morality, and Relationships
Throughout Nasar’s biography, John Nash is portrayed as a wholly complicated figure. Though exceedingly intelligent in the world of academia, he lacks a sense of social awareness and is often cruel, commandeering, and downright uncaring to the people around him: his friends, family, and peers. In A Beautiful Mind, Nasar does not attempt to excuse or justify Nash’s behavior. Instead, she suggests that while Nash was able to get ahead as a mathematician…
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