A Beautiful Mind Summary: A Synopsis of the Story

A beautiful mind is a book by the author, Sylvia Nasar. It explores the story of the life of a Nobel prize-winning mathematician called John Forbes. Nash won the prize in economics in the year 1994.

John Nash Jr., born in  Bluefield, was the son to John Sr. and Virginia. His father was working for the Appalachian, and his mother taught until she was married. John’s sister Martha lived a normal child life, but John was a loner and used most of his time on experiments instead of sports. He was not a great student either then and received multiple complains from teachers.

John decided to become an electrical engineer like his father and got a scholarship to Carnegie Institute. However, he decided to major in mathematics and became recognized as a mathematical genius. He graduated at Princeton and spent his summers working with Rand co-corporation in California. Later he got arrested with charges of indecent exposure.

Nash had an interest in games and even dedicated a thesis to this about the concept of developing Nash equilibrium. This work earned him the Nobel prize.

Although everyone knew he was a genius, they found him socially strange. Nash belittled people, and his pranks were not received well. He became a teacher in Massachusetts Institute where he was part of an affair with a woman named Eleanor. Nash fathers Eleanor’s first son but refuses to marry her. Instead, he marries Alicia Larde and his second son was born, named, Charles Martin. Nash’s health mentally soon became a concern, and he undergoes hospitalization for a Schizophrenia diagnosis.

Nash was not able to resume teaching. He spends the next few years writing on Princeton blackboards and making frequent roams through the halls. Some of his colleagues gave him some research to conduct as part of help while he was capable of the task. Nash starts recovering during the 1980s. His son is also hospitalized after turning out to be schizophrenic.