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ABeautifulMindSylviaNasar[1]JohnForbesNash,Jr.—mathematicalgenius,inventorofatheoryofrationalbehavior,visionaryofthethinkingmachine—hadbeensittingwithhisvisitor,alsoamathematician,fornearlyhalfanhour.Itwaslateonaweekdayafternooninthespringof1959,and,thoughitwasonlyMay,uncomfortablywarm.Nashwasslumpedinanarmchairinonecornerofthehospitallounge,carelesslydressedinanylonshirtthathunglimplyoverhisunbeltedtrousers.Hispowerfulframewasslackasaragdoll’s,hisfinelymoldedfeaturesexpressionless.HehadbeenstaringdullyataspotimmediatelyinfrontoftheleftfootofHarvardprofessorGeorgeMackey,hardlymovingexcepttobrushhislongdarkhairawayfromhisforeheadinafitful,repetitivemotion.Hisvisitorsatupright,oppressedbythesilence,acutelyconsciousthatthedoorstotheroomwerelocked.Mackeyfinallycouldcontainhimselfnolonger.Hisvoicewasslightlyquerulous,buthestrainedtobegentle.“Howcouldyou,”beganMackey,“howcouldyou,amathematician,amandevotedtoreasonandlogicalproof...howcouldyoubelievethatextraterrestrialsaresendingyoumessages?Howcouldyoubelievethatyouarebeingrecruitedbyaliensfromouterspacetosavetheworld?Howcouldyou...?”[2]NashlookedupatlastandfixedMackeywithanunblinkingstareascoolanddispassionateasthatofanybirdorsnake.“Because,”Nashsaidslowlyinhissoft,reasonablesoutherndrawl,asiftalkingtohimself,“theideasIhadaboutsupernaturalbeingscametomethesamewaythatmymathematicalideasdid.SoItookthemseriously.”[3]TheyounggeniusfromBluefield,WestVirginia—handsome,arrogant,andhighlyeccentric—burstontothemathematicalscenein1948.Overthenextdecade,adecadeasnotableforitssupremefaithinhumanrationalityasforitsdarkanxietiesaboutmankind'ssurvival,Nashprovedhimself,inthewordsoftheeminentgeometerMikhailGromov,“themostremarkablemathematicianofthesecondhalfofthecentury.”Gamesofstrategy,economicrivalry,computerarchitecture,theshapeoftheuniverse,thegeometryofimaginaryspaces,themysteryofprimenumbers—allengagedhiswide-rangingimagination.Hisideaswereofthedeepandwhollyunanticipatedkindthatpushesscientificthinkinginnewdirections.[4]Geniuses,themathematicianPaulHalmoswrote,“areoftwokinds:theoneswhoarejustlikeallofus,butverymuchmoreso,andtheoneswho,apparently,haveanextrahumanspark.Wecanallrun,andsomeofuscanrunthemileinlessthan4minutes;butthereisnothingthatmostofuscandothatcompareswiththecreationoftheGreatG-minorFugue.”Nash’sgeniuswasofthatmysteriousvarietymoreoftenassociatedwithmusicandartthanwiththeoldestofallsciences.Itwasn’tmerelythathismindworkedfaster,thathismemorywasmoreretentive,orthathispowerofconcentrationwasgreater.Theflashesofintuitionwerenonrational.Likeothergreatmathematicalintuitionists—GeorgFriedrichBernhardRiemann,JulesHenriPoincare,SrinivasaRamanujan—Nashsawthevisionfirst,constructingthelaboriousproofslongafterward.Butevenafterhe’dtrytoexplainsomeastonishingresult,theactualroutehehadtakenremainedamysterytootherswhotriedtofollowhisreasoning.DonaldNewman,amathematicianwhoknewNashatMITinthe1950s,usedtosayabouthimthat“everyoneelsewouldclimbapeakbylookingforapathsomewhereonthemountain.Nashwouldclimbanothermountainaltogetherandfromthatdistantpeakwouldshineasearchlightbackontothefirstpeak”[5]Noonewasmoreobsessedwithoriginality,moredisdainfulofauthority,ormorejealousofhisindependence.Asayoungmanhewassurroundedbythehighpriestsoftwentieth-centuryscience—AlbertEinstein,JohnvonNeumann,andNorbertWiener—hejoinednoschool,becamenoone'sdisciple,gotalonglargelywithoutguidesorfollowers.Inalmosteverythinghedid—fromgametheorytogeometry—hethumbedhisnoseatthereceivedwisdom,currentfashions,establishedmethods.Healmostalwaysworkedalone,inhishead,usuallywalking,oftenwhistlingBach.Nashacquiredhisknowledgeofmathematicsnotmainlyfromstudyingwhatothermathematicianshaddiscovered,butbyrediscoveringtheirtruthsforhimself.Eagertoastound,hewasalwaysonthelookoutforthereallybigproblems.Whenhefocusedonsomenewpuzzle,hesawdimensionsthatpeoplewhoreallyknewthesubject(heneverdid)initiallydismissedasnaiveorwrongheaded.Evenasastudent,hisindifferencetoothers'skepticism,doubt,andridiculewasawesome.[6]Nash’sfaithinrationalityandthepowerofpurethoughtwasextreme,evenforaveryyoungmathematicianandevenforthenewageofcomputers,spacetravel,andnuclearweapons.Einsteinoncechidedhimforwishingtoamendrelativitytheorywithoutstudyingphysics.HisheroesweresolitarythinkersandsupermenlikeNewtonandNietzsche.Computersandsciencefictionwerehispassions.Heconsidered“thinkingmachines”,ashecalledthem,superiorinsomewaystohumanbeings.Atonepoint,hebecamefascinatedbythepossibilitythatdrugscouldheightenphysicalandintellectualperformancedd9Hewasbeguiledbytheideaofalienracesofhyper-rationalbeingswhohadtaughtthemselvestodisregardallemotion.10Compulsivelyrational,hewishedtoturnlife’sdecisions—whethertotakethefirstelevatororwaitforthenextone,wheretobankhismoney,whatjobtoaccept,whethertomarry—intocalculationsofadvantageanddisadvantage,algorithmsormathematicalrulesdivorcedfromemotion,convention,andtradition.EventhesmallactofsayinganautomatichellotoNashinahallwaycouldelicitafurious“Whyareyousayinghellotome?”[7]Hiscontemporaries,onthewhole,foundhimimmenselystr