J. Nash, S. Nassar...mental illness and the Nobel Prize

The Earl of Huntington [Robin Hood (Russell Crowe)] will be an adventure yarn hitting the theaters soon. And that reminded me of an earlier film by Ron Howard featuring Russell Crowe as the famous mathematician on economics John Nash in A Beautiful Mind exploring the complex psychological features of paranoid schizophrenia. What does his illness have to do with the prestigious Nobel Prize? It was little known fact that the Swedish board for the Nobel Prize was somewhat hesitant to have a recipient be mentally challenged. Nevertheless, the award was given. Now, about eight years ago Sylvia Nassar wrote a biography on John Nash, A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash , that became the basis for the film.

On January 5th, 2002, Sylvia Nassar was a guest of Charles Lee and Frank Ling on the Berkeley Groks radio program where she discusses her book and Nash's mental issues and the Nobel Prize.

Interview

[The interview begins at about 8:24 if you wish to skip the miscellaneous material.]

A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash

by

Sylvia Nassar

ISBN-10: 0743224574
ISBN-13: 978-0743224574

John Forbes Nash, Jr. [Wikipedia]


Berkeley Groks