On Saturday cutting-edge mathematician John Nash and his wife, Alicia, died tragically when their tax wrecked in New Jersey. John Nash’s work in game theory redefined the field of economics and many other fields. In 1994 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences presented him with the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, (also known as the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences).
For the care she gave him following schizophrenia’s deleterious effects on his life, John owed Alicia a serious debt of gratitude. The Oscar-winning Hollywood film “A Beautiful Mind” dramatized his accomplishments and illness; and glossed over some of his failings. PBS’s “A Brilliant Madness” tells the real story behind the genius.
