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A Beautiful Mind Mathematician John F. Nash Jr. Dies

Posted by samzenpus on from the rest-in-peace dept.

Rick Zeman writes: John F. Nash Jr. revolutionized the mathematical field of game theory and was given a mind that was unique and deeply troubled. He became known to most people by the movie about his life, A Beautiful Mind. Dr. Nash died, along with his wife, May 24 in a two-car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike. The Washington Post reports: "In 1994, when Dr. Nash received the Nobel Prize in economics, the award marked not only an intellectual triumph but also a personal one. More than four decades earlier, as a Princeton University graduate student, he had produced a 27-page thesis on game theory — in essence, the applied mathematical study of decision-making in situations of conflict — that would become one of the most celebrated works in the field. Before the academic world could fully recognize his achievement, Dr. Nash descended into a condition eventually diagnosed as schizophrenia. For the better part of 20 years, his once supremely rational mind was beset by delusions and hallucinations. By the time Dr. Nash emerged from his disturbed state, his ideas had influenced economics, foreign affairs, politics, biology — virtually every sphere of life fueled by competition. But he been absent from professional life for so long that some scholars assumed he was dead."

176 comments

  1. I guess that if a Mathematician... by TWX · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...wants a Nobel Prize, one's work must be in Economics, or Physics, or otherwise be recognizable in another discipline beyond one's actual field of study.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by MightyDrunken · · Score: 1, Informative

      There isn't a Nobel prize in Economics though, even if that is what the article says. It is the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences as Alfred Nobel did not set it up.

      --
      The most dangerous drug
    2. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Xiaran · · Score: 2

      They can always get a Fields Medal. Also a Nobel prize in economics isn't really.

    3. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Carewolf · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yeah, but the Fields medal is bit difficult because it has a low age limit. So you have write somthing great and get recognized for it before the age of 30

    4. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      But isn't math a part of Economics and Physics?

    5. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 5, Informative

      There isn't a Nobel prize in Economics though, even if that is what the article says. It is the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences as Alfred Nobel did not set it up.

      Yes, it's technically correct, though I get tired of hearing this brought up all the time, as if it's some sort of weird conspiracy theory to make it sound like there's a "Nobel Prize" when there isn't one.

      Look -- the Nobel Prizes are awarded by the Nobel Foundation. They use the same administrative mechanisms and process for choosing the economics prize, the same academic body (the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences) makes the selections as most other prizes, they give the same award money, and they give the award at the same ceremony.

      The difference is that the other prizes were created by Nobel himself, while the economics prize was later endowed by contributions to the Nobel Foundation, who agreed to administer the prize under the same criteria.

      So yes, while Nobel himself didn't set it up, the fact is that the only body that matters NOW is who awards the prize, that that foundation (which actually OWNS and administers things called "Nobel Prizes") has decided to award a prize in economics too, which it basically treats in every way EXACTLY THE SAME as the other prizes.

      This strikes me like someone claiming that the Harvard Medical School or the Harvard Business School aren't REALLY "Harvard" schools, because John Harvard didn't explicitly will money to create schools of medicine or business or whatever back in the 1630s... he just wanted to create a college, and it was mostly a kind of seminary in the early days. So, you may think you are a Harvard Medical School grad -- but it's not REALLY "Harvard."

      There IS a bit of a difference here because the Nobel Foundation itself tries to keep a subtle distinction in the naming of the prizes, probably due to legal constraints about how the will was worded exactly. But acting like there's some big difference and it's not "really a Nobel Prize" is ridiculous -- it's just a historical and semantic distinction, not one that actually means anything in terms of how the prize is administered, selected, or awarded. And that's probably why the media usually makes little distinction, because in all ways that ACTUALLY MATTER, there isn't one.

      (And by the way, usually this argument tends to come up from people who want to claim economics isn't a "real science" or something. I won't get into that argument, but well, neither is "peace" or "literature.")

    6. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing ... oh yeah, absolutely nothing, the entire credibility of all Nobel prizes took a swift kick in the gonads. Including those based on science and mathematics.

    7. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...Which is rather strange. Economics is more driven by fickle and panicky animal psychology (something a schizophrenic can relate to) than than the eminently logical mathematics. It's all bullshit when your neighbor wants you dead.

    8. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I, for one, knew it was the prize award for "Not Being George W. Bush" and recognized the political meaning to the prize, a well-established practice that did nothing to the credibility of the awarding.

      Unless you don't like giving GWB the finger.

    9. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing ... oh yeah, absolutely nothing

      Pimpin' ain't easy

    10. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And if you don't, it's one sided.

    11. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Smallpond · · Score: 1

      When Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing ... oh yeah, absolutely nothing, the entire credibility of all Nobel prizes took a swift kick in the gonads. Including those based on science and mathematics.

      It was to make up for having awarded it to Henry Kissinger in 1973.

    12. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

      It was to make up for having awarded it to Henry Kissinger in 1973.

      To do that they would have had to award it to Starlight Glimmer.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    13. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by catchblue22 · · Score: 1, Informative

      When Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing ... oh yeah, absolutely nothing, the entire credibility of all Nobel prizes took a swift kick in the gonads. Including those based on science and mathematics.

      It wasn't for nothing. It was very likely because at the time he was single-handedly pushing for nuclear disarmament negotiations with Russia. I know this because a relative of mine was involved in the process.

      --
      This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
    14. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

      And by the way, usually this argument tends to come up from people who want to claim economics isn't a "real science" or something. I won't get into that argument, but well, neither is "peace" or "literature."

      Those people are right, and you're right about peace and literature.
      Nash's contribution was really in mathematics, though, so that's fine by me.
      BTW, the best proof that economics isn't a science, is that it isn't even included there : http://xkcd.com/435/

    15. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Nehmo · · Score: 1

      When... Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing ... nothing, the entire credibility of all Nobel prizes took a swift kick ...

      I can't and won't get over that either. (BTW, I supported O's election considering the opposition.) Every time I hear "Nobel," I think tainted. And if O had any dignity, he would have declined accepting it.

      --
      (||) Nehmo (||)
    16. Re: I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, of course, we all believe you. (Rolls eyes).

    17. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

      And by the way, usually this argument tends to come up from people who want to claim economics isn't a "real science" or something.

      The burden on proof really is on people (usually economists among themselves) that pretend that economics is a science.

    18. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      40 is the upper bound for the Fields Medal, and since it is only awarded every 4 years, the effective age limit is somewhere between 36 and 40 depending upon your birth year modulo 4.

    19. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      And by the way, usually this argument tends to come up from people who want to claim economics isn't a "real science" or something.

      The burden on proof really is on people (usually economists among themselves) that pretend that economics is a science.

      I just want to be clear that I was in no way implying that economics is (or is not) a "real science" (whatever that means). The point of the end of my post was that this is often an argument brought up about Nobel Prizes, but such a criterion doesn't seem to be relevant given that there are prizes given for things that are definitely not "sciences" AND which were instituted by Nobel himself.

    20. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      the prize was sullied before then, but yeah that pretty much killed it

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    21. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      you get the prize for accomplishments (should anyway) not wishes and dreams

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    22. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by BitterOak · · Score: 2

      So 36 is the least upper bound.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
    23. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      Yes, it's technically correct, though I get tired of hearing this brought up all the time, as if it's some sort of weird conspiracy theory to make it sound like there's a "Nobel Prize" when there isn't one.

      There is the matter that Nobel, nor his family, even those alive today, had any intention of giving an award to economists. The award is given in the memory of Alfred Nobel, which is nice, but taken to the extreme and you get David Miscavage giving Tom Cruise the "Albert Einstein Humanitarian Anti-Psychology Award." It's a shameless appropriation of the name Nobel simply to promote the award.

      Alfred Nobel created his foundation as a humanitarian enterprise, mainly to atone for his invention of dynamite. He wanted to promote brotherhood between nations and the pursuit of knowledge. The Swedish National Bank created the Economics award because they wanted to promote economic science.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    24. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Economics is a social science, it is just a branch of psychology.

    25. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      ... which is just a branch of biology.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    26. Re: I guess that if a Mathematician... by catchblue22 · · Score: 1

      Yes, of course, we all believe you. (Rolls eyes).

      I'm not lying, though I'm not giving up my pseudo-anonymity. He was involved in the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.

      --
      This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
    27. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by catchblue22 · · Score: 1

      you get the prize for accomplishments (should anyway) not wishes and dreams

      With Congress and the Senate in the hands of the republicans, what can he really do? Pretty much nothing except twiddle dials.

      --
      This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
    28. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by ganjadude · · Score: 2

      funny, clinton seemed to do ok with a republican congress


      but besides all of that, your blame the republicans tactic has nothing at all to do with him winning the award. Plain and simple he got the award when he did absolutely NOTHING to deserve it

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    29. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      and look at how well that turned out.....

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    30. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Livius · · Score: 0

      "Not Being George W. Bush"

      ...was considered a great advance for world peace by almost the entire planet.

    31. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      try harder, your trolling is laughably bad

    32. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Garridan · · Score: 1

      So, you're related to some asshole who was one of a faceless hoard fighting against Obama, pushing to maintain the status quo on the ramp-up of nuclear armament? I'd want to stay anonymous, too.

    33. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 1

      But you thought it was credible to give Kissinger one?

    34. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      not to mention that he had the house and senate at the time he got the award, and still nothing worthy

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    35. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fascism needs no prize but the end results.

      When the US wakes from its socialist slumber by force it will see a better tomorrow.

      Thugs cause the ills of today's society and are positively reinforced. Homogeny of culture is what is required to cure the country's cancer. The streets will run with the blood of the weak and be cleansed by it.

      The Fascist States of America is coming.

      Which end of the gun will you be on?

      Wolf Bearclaw Hitler II

    36. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by WalksOnDirt · · Score: 1

      There is microeconomics, which is pretty sciency. Macroeconomics is more sociology.

      --
      a,e,i,o,u and sometimes w and y (at be if of up cwm by)
    37. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      Your post was very informative and I for one thank you.
      I have nothing to add except Athanasius Kircher was brilliant and possibly before his time.

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
    38. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by kakaburra · · Score: 1

      before the age of 30

      it is 40

    39. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      you get the prize for accomplishments (should anyway) not wishes and dreams

      He accomplished that a bat-shit insane person couldn't accidentally become president. Good enough for me.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    40. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by TWX · · Score: 1

      When Barack Hussein Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing ... oh yeah, absolutely nothing, the entire credibility of all Nobel prizes took a swift kick in the gonads. Including those based on science and mathematics.

      The Nobel Peace Price lost credibility when it was awarded to Henry Kissinger, who had, I assure you, done plenty.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    41. Re: I guess that if a Mathematician... by mcswell · · Score: 1

      I read catchblue22's post as a joke. Single handedly, and this relative was involved? Monty Python sig? Of course if it wasn't a joke, I'm with you.

    42. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by mcswell · · Score: 1

      Not to mention Reagan's negotiations with Gorbachev.

    43. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obama is a worthless nigger.

    44. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by oobayly · · Score: 1

      Hey, I didn't see you all over there...

    45. Re: I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No worse than Henry Kissinger winning one for helping stop the Vietnam war. A war that he helped escalate. I've heard it described like giving a man an award for putting out a fire that he started and then poured petrol on. And I do realise that he didn't start the Vietnam war.

    46. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by hawkfish · · Score: 1

      But you thought it was credible to give Kissinger one?

      While this was justly ridiculed (by Tom Lehrer no less) I suspect that most of the people responsible are either dead or no longer involved. At what point do institutions reach redemption?

      --
      You will not drink with us, but you would taste our steel? - Walter Matthau, The Pirates
    47. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      It was to make up for having awarded it to Henry Kissinger in 1973.

      To do that they would have had to award it to Starlight Glimmer.

      Hey now, I'm pretty sure Henry Kissinger actually exists.

      Although on further reflection, he might be a lizard...

    48. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by MightyDrunken · · Score: 1

      My point is simply the name is Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, no conspiracy.

      --
      The most dangerous drug
    49. Re:I guess that if a Mathematician... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This was the subject of the Dilbert cartoon a few weeks ago. Dilbert referred to the Nobel Economics prize and someone showed up and made the same pedantic comment as above. Dilbert said to the person "I don't know you". The other person replied "Everybody knows me. I'm Dick from the Internet!" Funniest Dilbert in quite awhile.

  2. A true loss by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Truly a tragic loss, not just for science, but for all who were still learning from him. Both math, and that limitations are not what stops you.

    1. Re:A true loss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If only the taxi he was in were a self-driving car he'd still be around.

    2. Re:A true loss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately I wouldn't say Tragic loss. The tragedy happened decades ago when such a unique mind imploded in on itself. This is a tragedy but not a loss

    3. Re:A true loss by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      If he was in a self-driving taxi, the probability is higher he'd still be alive.

      Or he could have just been killed a mile down the road by someone who plowed into their self-driving taxi.

    4. Re:A true loss by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Both math, and that limitations are not what stops you.

      But a Crown Victoria in the face usually does.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    5. Re:A true loss by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're right, the more self driving cars he better.

  3. that explains everything... by antiperimetaparalogo · · Score: 1

    By the time Dr. Nash emerged from his disturbed state, his ideas had influenced economics, foreign affairs, politics, biology — virtually every sphere of life

    I just like how it sounds... ignore me!

    --
    Antisthenes: "Wisdom begins by examining the words/names." - excuse my English, i am (slightly...) better with my Greek!
    1. Re:that explains everything... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That his mental state was improved by an awareness of the improvement around him? I like how you think!

    2. Re:that explains everything... by catchblue22 · · Score: 1

      By the time Dr. Nash emerged from his disturbed state, his ideas had influenced economics, foreign affairs, politics, biology — virtually every sphere of life

      I would think that his disturbed state actually influenced his theories. I believe that his paranoid schizophrenia started somewhat early on. I cannot imagine how such a profound mental disturbance would not influence one's intellect.

      --
      This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
  4. Taxicab vs Uber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Completely off topic, but John F.Nash died in a licensed taxicab. Can anyone imagine the fuss if John F. Nash would have died in Uber car?

    I could imagine, that some sort of additional law would be passed pronto to completely regulate ("strangulate"), just because it is convenient to do so, and the public sentiment seemed right.

    1. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      He and his wife were unfortunately not wearing seat belts. I really don't understand intelligent people not wearing a safety belt. Particularly in a cab.

    2. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by Whorhay · · Score: 2

      My younger brother used to never wear his seatbelt, arguing that he'd rather be thrown clear of an accident than be trapping in a rolling and or crushed vehicle. I had tried to tell him that the odds of that weren't good, even if he ended up out of the vehicle he'd likely get crushed. It all fell on deaf ears.

      Then one day a high school buddy of his was in an accident while not wearing his seatbelt. He was thrown halfway out of the pickup truck when the truck rolled over and cut him in half. His friend died almost immediately of course and my brother now religously wears his seatbelt.

    3. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In a high speed accident anything can happen of course. The real benefit is in lower speed accidents. In the past at speeds under 50mph many people were dying or being crippled for life without the use of seat belts. Properly belted in those are almost entirely walk away accidents. At really high speeds I'm not sure it makes that much difference. I remember back in the early sixties I was 5 years old and my Dad was driving his 59 Ford (on skinny bias-ply tires) with the needle on the speedometer right between the 00 on the 100MPH mark. The car had no belts at all and I was standing on the front seat gleefully yelling "pass another one daddy" as my father sipped on a jug of moonshine he had sitting on the floorboards between his legs. He's 90 now and when I remind him of it (he loves to criticize MY driving) he almost cries. It's amazing any of us survived. But hell it was fun.

    4. Re: Taxicab vs Uber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a different time in the 60s ;)

    5. Re: Taxicab vs Uber by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

      I see no evidence to suggest they would have survived had they worn seatbelts. Couch victim blaming aside, the chances of two fragile elderly people surviving getting T-Boned is pretty slim.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    6. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by catchblue22 · · Score: 1

      ...arguing that he'd rather be thrown clear of an accident...

      Yeah, thrown clear through a gate of knives. People should really remember that in Hollywood, smashed windows are typically made of sugar.

      --
      This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
    7. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by Whorhay · · Score: 1

      My Mother in Law has commented on breastfeeding an infant, while behind the wheel, driving cross country, without wearing seatbelts. That was back in the late 60's early 70's I guess. I wouldn't even consider removing my child from their safety seat while a vehicle isn't parked these days. Of course some of her children were sent home from the hospital in a cardboard box that she was just supposed to put on the floorboards, different times for sure.

    8. Re: Taxicab vs Uber by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Maybe so, maybe not. I guess once you're over 80 life may seem a little less precious. I'm almost 60 and it hurts every day to get out of bed. I don't know if I want to live to be that old. The real benefit from safety belts is at slower speeds though. Why get concussions and broken bones from 30MPH fender benders? Wear a seat belt and maybe your shoulder is a little sore from where the harness caught it.

    9. Re: Taxicab vs Uber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe so, maybe not. I guess once you're over 80 life may seem a little less precious. I'm almost 60 and it hurts every day to get out of bed. I don't know if I want to live to be that old. The real benefit from safety belts is at slower speeds though. Why get concussions and broken bones from 30MPH fender benders? Wear a seat belt and maybe your shoulder is a little sore from where the harness caught it.

      And if you're the driver, they keep you in place behind the wheel so you can recover.

      Scenario A: Bumped/sideswiped, belted in, wheel jerks a bit, hands on wheel recover control. Car stays mostly straight and you bring it to a stop.
      Scenario B: Bumped/sideswiped, unbelted, and those same hands jerk the wheel 90 degrees as your body slides halfway into the passenger seat. Car is now spinning out of control across multiple lanes of traffic, even if the initial impact was survivable.

    10. Re: Taxicab vs Uber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had to read this comment 4 times before I realized that you meant the children were being sent home /alive/ in those boxes...

    11. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I lol'd but his is a tough (or possibly stupid) crowd

    12. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by dsmatthews9379 · · Score: 0

      And if they were in a self driving car the crash may never have happened. i.e. The problem that resulted in his death is common in taxis and Uber with the experience of the individual human driver being the primary difference, which leads us to the question, is the average taxi driver more or less proficient than the average Uber driver? Until you can answer that question your mildly paranoid (Nashian?) point is moot.

    13. Re: Taxicab vs Uber by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Excellent point. It's just a good idea. Seat belts aren't perfect but they sure improve your chances of avoiding bad things.

    14. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Years ago there was a picture in the paper of a badly mangled SUV. The driver was killed. The survivors were in the backseat and were a mother (the driver's wife0 returning with her baby who had just been born in a child seat. The article mentioned that the nurses at the hospital had encouraged her to hold the baby in her lap - I guess since it had just been born? II don't know, but the woman saved herself and her baby.

      There's no good reason not to wear a seat belt. They're not uncomfortable and take only a second to fasten.

    15. Re:Taxicab vs Uber by PingPongBoy · · Score: 1

      He and his wife were unfortunately not wearing seat belts. I really don't understand intelligent people not wearing a safety belt. Particularly in a cab.

      But this is John Nash at 86 years old. So you have to ask Is this true or did he fake his death and what would that mean? Agent 86, what does he know that the rest of us do not?

      --
      Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
  5. Thanks You Dr. Nash by cosm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Historical inaccuracies aside, the movie A Beautiful Mind inspired me to pursue and receive my B.S. in Mathematics which resulted in a very lucrative and satisfactory career. My thanks go out to Dr. Nash and my condolences go out to his family.

    --
    'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
    1. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Hey, he wasn't just a mathematician, he was also a computer geek. I used to see him back in the early 80's in the middle of the night in the Princeton computer center, wandering around with a deck of punch cards for the IBM mainframe.

      I was playing Frisbee in a field with some friends, and it started to drizzle. Professor Nash walked by, and laid down on a bench under a tree. He folded his hands together, closed his eyes, and looked really placid, but we could see that he was thinking about something.

      You know that saying, "A penny for your thoughts?" I would have paid a fortune to know what he was thinking about!

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    2. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

      How long was your career? The movie came out in 2001.
      Also, may I ask what you do?

    3. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now, I'm curious.

    4. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by cosm · · Score: 1

      I'm still a software engineer for a major Fortune 500 semiconductor company. I assist the network protocol teams with the mathematics behind various protocols and RFCs along the lines of things like WRED, TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF (think route convergence, etc). I saw the film about 8 years ago, and later on switched my major from physics to math and haven't looked backed since. Thanks for inquiring!

      --
      'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
    5. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And stuff like this outweighs any discussion or receipt of a Nobel Prize.

      Humanity isn't just about awards or prizes, turning scientists or engineers (or programmers) into rockstars, which is what those in power would like us to believe. Among all other things, being able to contribute 'inspiration' is all that matters in the end--we all end up in the same place.

    6. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by cosm · · Score: 1

      I agree. After I first saw the movie, all I could focus on was the destination and not the journey. I obsessed with things like the Riemann Hypothesis and the Poincare Conjecture. After reading Perfect Rigor by Masha Gessen, a great book about how Gregory Perelman solved the Poincare Conjecture, it helped shape my perspective in life about what awards, honors, and all that junk really mean and how that stack up relative to the actual desire to do what one desires. Reading that Perelman wouldn't even answer the phone or accept the Fields medal from the committee was very inspiring and a lesson on humility and what it really means to be curious for the sake of curiosity rather than success or money.

      --
      'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
    7. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now I am really curious. I work with the same protocols frequently and do not need much advanced math proper, but a great deal of topo logic with simple functions sprinkled in. What would a mathematics degree do for that? Help the engineers work out efficient implementation in hardware?

    8. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by cosm · · Score: 2

      Awesome to meet somebody else in the space, it is a fun place to be in. I'm mostly a DevOps guy now (I know --- buzzwords blah blah), but if a tough support call comes in, typically I spend my time in the run-time analysis side explaining "why is this packet being dropped from this queue" or "why did our convergence algorithm pick this path". Say a big data center customer calls and says "such and such is getting dropped on the 40G QSFP links during congestion, please explain your bug". Then that turns into a large discussion about how to configure COS queues properly and some education about xyz configuration spaces with the various protocols, followed by an update to our documentation if it's sparse in that particular implementation scenario or a white paper specific to their topology and common traffic profiles (tier 1 ISPs usually).

      --
      'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
    9. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know that saying, "A penny for your thoughts?" I would have paid a fortune to know what he was thinking about!

      Math.

    10. Re:Thanks You Dr. Nash by ShakaUVM · · Score: 1

      Heh. I was at Princeton last year, and apparently everyone there had a Nash story about him just walking in to a random room with his sweater on, doing something weird, and then moving on.

  6. Please correct the headline... by parrini · · Score: 1

    I would change that title to "Game Theory mathematician dies..." In honor of his accomplishments. He was not famous because of the movie.

    1. Re:Please correct the headline... by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      He's famous in pop culture because of the film, that's because most of us are uneducated knuckledraggers.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    2. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      At least most of us are smart enough to wear a seatbelt and not get ejected from a vehicle.

    3. Re:Please correct the headline... by AchilleTalon · · Score: 5, Interesting

      He is known for his work in game theory, however he is not a game theory mathematician since before fading into his mental illness he was working on quantum theory. His paper on game theory is his Ph. D. thesis. Just the tip of the iceberg this mathematician was and could have been if the illness didn't stopped him. Anyhow, it is very sad he and his wife died in an automobile accident.

      --
      Achille Talon
      Hop!
    4. Re:Please correct the headline... by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Do taxis even have seatbelts? I don't recall ever having put one on in the back of one.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    5. Re:Please correct the headline... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      He became famous to the public at large through the movie.

    6. Re:Please correct the headline... by antiperimetaparalogo · · Score: 1

      At least most of us are smart enough to wear a seatbelt and not get ejected from a vehicle.

      Why this anonymous human being is modded down?

      The two were thrown from their vehicle, police said. Media reports said the couple may not have been wearing seatbelts when they crashed. (source: BBC)

      --
      Antisthenes: "Wisdom begins by examining the words/names." - excuse my English, i am (slightly...) better with my Greek!
    7. Re:Please correct the headline... by AgNO3 · · Score: 1

      Yes and in NYC they actually run a video when you get in the cab saying put on your seat belt.

      --
      OMG Ponies!!! with Glitter!!!! I miss Pink :-(
    8. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think I have ever seen a taxi without a seatbelt. It boggles that mind that people are so careless as to not wear a seatbelt in a taxi, half the drivers are lunatics or have only been driving a short time, life is short, why gamble at making it shorter.

    9. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Furthermore, I've read that the driver did use a seatbelt -- and survived.

    10. Re: Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I am an educated knuckledragger, thank you very much!

    11. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      generally, I don't wear seatbelts in the back seat either. It's not really about gambling, but about doing unnecessary things out of fear. Don't live your short life constantly in fear that you are going to die!

    12. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not really about gambling, but about doing unnecessary things out of fear

      Yeah except the data behind the campaign to get people to wear seatbelts is actually pretty solid.

    13. Re:Please correct the headline... by antiperimetaparalogo · · Score: 2

      Furthermore, I've read that the driver did use a seatbelt -- and survived.

      If that is true then the driver is better in physics than mister Nash was...

      --
      Antisthenes: "Wisdom begins by examining the words/names." - excuse my English, i am (slightly...) better with my Greek!
    14. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The movie didn't make him notable in his field, but it certainly is what made him famous.

      Ask 5 people in an airport who John Nash is, and ask 5 people in an airport who Hermann von Helmholtz is.

    15. Re:Please correct the headline... by maestroX · · Score: 1

      His paper on game theory is his Ph. D. thesis. Just the tip of the iceberg this mathematician was and could have been if the illness didn't stopped him.

      Somehow intellectual brilliance seems to have its way with mental stability, let's just hope some brilliant mind will discover a treatment some time in the future.

    16. Re:Please correct the headline... by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      What you're saying is that if you die, you want to take the person in the front seat down with you.

      http://thecarseatlady.com/back...

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    17. Re:Please correct the headline... by lars_stefan_axelsson · · Score: 1

      He is known for his work in game theory, however he is not a game theory mathematician since before fading into his mental illness he was working on quantum theory. His paper on game theory is his Ph. D. thesis. Just the tip of the iceberg this mathematician was and could have been if the illness didn't stopped him.

      Indeed. If you look at his actual proof of the existence Nash equilibrium it's a brilliant piece of mathematics where he freely jumps between seemingly unrelated fields of mathematics (probability theory in one instance, geometry in the next etc.), like a butterfly between flowers on a meadow. Obvious only in hindsight.

      However, as schizophrenia is a disease that is characterised by the brain making associations between things that can't even be associated (e.g. "clanging" thinking as if words that rhyme actually have a meaningful relation in speech) you can't help but wonder about the connection. A brain that is able to make fantastic connection between distant fields of mathematics to build new results always teetering on the edge of completely losing touch with factual reality by "over revving," making false connections between everything and anything, even though there are none.

      --
      Stefan Axelsson
    18. Re:Please correct the headline... by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      He became famous to the public at large through the movie.

      I thought this site offered News for Nerds, not for people who watch Oscar-bait movies.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    19. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What you're saying is that if you die, you want to take the person in the front seat down with you.

      Why wouldn't I want to take out the people in the front seats? Is it more courteous to die without inconveniencing others?

    20. Re:Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or perhaps better at statistics?

      Or perhaps the law simply says that people in the front seat must wear seat belts but the back seat passengers do not have to?

      And just based on how much time a cab driver spends behind the wheel a cab driver is much more likely to get into an accident than are any one of his passengers.

    21. Re: Please correct the headline... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you insensitive clod!

  7. Googlespiracy? by Guy+From+V · · Score: 1

    Did the other driver get charged by police...if there is one...

  8. Stupid way to die. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    A man that smart not wearing a seat-belt must be one of the dumbest ways to die.

  9. Re: I'M the royal first poster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have some respect.

    RIP Mr. Nash.

  10. And so preventable by justthinkit · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A taxi that they were riding in was struck by another vehicle and the pair were ejected from the taxi.

    Why don't we wear seatbelts in taxi cabs? Is it even legal to not wear seat belts?

    --
    I come here for the love
    1. Re:And so preventable by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      A taxi that they were riding in was struck by another vehicle and the pair were ejected from the taxi.

      Why don't we wear seatbelts in taxi cabs? Is it even legal to not wear seat belts?

      Its hard to convince Americans in general to wear seat belts.

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    2. Re:And so preventable by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      It is legal to not wear a seat belt in the back seat in many jurisdictions, and the regulation where it is required is enforced in even fewer. The idea being, I suppose, that the seats ahead of you keep you from being ejected through the windshield.

      However, if one was riding in the front seat, the wearing of seat belts is required by law just about everywhere now.

      It was not clear to me their seating when they were ejected, but at least one would have been in the back, presumably. Certainly, I have trouble believing that both a) fit up front and b) that the fasten seat belt tone didn't annoy everyone into buckling up in the front.

      A sad way to go for someone who successfully fought against a much more difficult condition.

    3. Re: And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess you have not been a passenger in a taxi, or have forgotten, because I distinctly remember the lengthy stuggle to fit the seatbelt each and every time I rode in a taxi.

      R.I.P. John and Alicia Nash

    4. Re:And so preventable by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

      Yeah, we should give Nash a big fine to deter him from doing it again.

    5. Re:And so preventable by justthinkit · · Score: 1

      Did I say I'm not sympathetic? I happen to have kids, so I come at this from the "think of the children" angle.

      I'm just surprised cabs let people not use seatbelts, is all. It wouldn't take too many sting operations for them to change, though...

      I find it fascinating what we freak out about, versus what we tolerate. The same set of points can be made about city buses. I get that seatbelts are harder for them to use. And that they are heavier vehicles, so the relative force imparted on collision is less. Still, no belts. And what about Greyhound buses? No belts there the last time I road one (ten years ago).

      --
      I come here for the love
    6. Re:And so preventable by lgw · · Score: 0

      Stop treating everyone as children. Adults are moral entities with agency, and can damn well decide on their own whether to wear a seatbelt or not.

      I find it fascinating what we freak out about, versus what we tolerate.

      Exactly: we seem t have a collective fetish for forcing others to make the same choices that we would, instead of respecting one another as people just like us, each with the right to find his own distinct path to happiness.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    7. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got into a taxi on a few occasions, and the driver never had seat belts on. Then he looked at be strange when I proceeded to buckle in. One even said, "no sir, you don't need seat belts"....

    8. Re:And so preventable by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

      Adults are moral entities with agency, and can damn well decide on their own whether to wear a seatbelt or not.

      It's not so easy : by not wearing a seatbelt, you make it easier for others (taxi driver and other drivers on the road) to accidentally kill you. It's a big burden that you could put on other "moral entities".

    9. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't we wear seatbelts in taxi cabs? Is it even legal to not wear seat belts?

      They were probably fooling around in the back seat. Young couples often do that.

    10. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its hard to convince Americans in general to wear seat belts.

      Really? 87% of Americans wear them as of a couple years ago. Though young knotheads still wear them at a considerably lower rate than the national average, as do African-Americans (the young knotheads I understand, not sure why the African-Americans do it).

      knotheads? Racist much?

    11. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cuz it be crampin' dey style playa.

    12. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are no externalities in phony libertarianism.

    13. Re:And so preventable by penguinoid · · Score: 1

      But what is the Nash equilibrium in the game of not wearing a seatbelt vs resources spent on increasing seatbelt use?

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    14. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, what? Since when is "knot" a race? I thought "knothead" was like "knucklehead", "numbskull", and "poop-for-brains". A generic insult without any connection to any particular race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or what have you.

    15. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly.

      If your lack of a seatbelt only impacted you, I would support your right to not wear a seatbelt. Unfortunately, when the cops need to close a highway to peel your doughy ass off the pavement, now I am being impacted by your decision.

    16. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stop treating everyone as children. Adults are moral entities with agency, and can damn well decide on their own whether to wear a seatbelt or not.

      Jesus Christ, get that stick out of your butt. justthinkit never said anything about "I think people should be forced to wear seatbelts", they merely expressed surprise about how existing seatbelt laws apparently do not apply to cabs. Hell, I'm with you on the whole "seatbelt laws are wrong", yet I'm surprised they don't apply.

      It is entirely possibly to hold a particular belief about a thing, while recognizing the fact that a law says something else entirely about that thing. "I reject your reality and substitute my own" is a great catchphrase for a mythbuster, but it is just that, a catchphrase.

    17. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kneejerk much? How 'bout you look up what knothead means before going of on a tangent at warpspeed?

      In short: No, not racist at all, actually. Not one iota.

    18. Re:And so preventable by oobayly · · Score: 1

      I think it's an age thing too. When I was growing (admittedly this is about 25 years ago) up there was an old lady that used to walk into town. We often gave her a lift and she would pull the seat belt across her, and hold it but not plug it in. I don't know anyone in my age group (or my parents' age group) that don't wear seatbelts - but then they've been mandatory in any countries I've lived in.

    19. Re:And so preventable by oobayly · · Score: 1

      The idea being, I suppose, that the seats ahead of you keep you from being ejected through the windshield.

      Which is pretty flawed - the seats may well stop you flying through the windscreen, but it quite likely there's some poor bastard in that seat who's going to get clobbered. In the UK they used to have a road safety advert that went along the lines of

      Like most victims - July knew her killer - it was her son, who wasn't wearing his seatbelt...

    20. Re:And so preventable by oobayly · · Score: 1

      In the UK, most (if not all) coaches have seatbelts. The announcement on my local service into London is "this coach has seatbelts and it's a legal requirement to wear one" - and I do, because I've seen what happens when one of those coaches crashes on the motorway.

    21. Re:And so preventable by oobayly · · Score: 1

      What is the rationale behind "seatbelt laws are wrong"? I suppose I've grown up with seatbelt laws so I don't think about them, other than the fact that they're not there to protect just you, they're also there to protect the people you're sharing the car with.

    22. Re:And so preventable by Dog-Cow · · Score: 1

      Was her son's name Brutus?

    23. Re: And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is your "path to happiness" really so impacted by seat belt laws? You also have to drive on the right side of the road... Who gives a shit?

    24. Re:And so preventable by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Its hard to convince Americans in general to wear seat belts.

      It's our God-given right to have the freedom to allow our brains to be splattered all over His Grand Creation.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    25. Re:And so preventable by lgw · · Score: 1

      That is the key to embracing totalitarianism: everything each of us do will always have some negative effect on another, thus the government must control everything each of us do for the common good. There's always an excuse you can find for that government control - always.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    26. Re:And so preventable by lgw · · Score: 1

      We used to care about liberty more than safety. Freedom mattered once. The right to be stupid, to make bad choices, to do the wrong thing, was seen as fundamental - after all, we need no "right" to do what everyone else says we should, liberty only comes into play when others disapprove of your actions. This didn't used to need explaining. Now, we're basically fucked - we raised a generation that embraces total control of our lives by the government, that can't even see what the argument against it would be, as long as the government forces us to do the right thing, how could that be bad? History will repeat itself soon enough, and that question will sadly be answered.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    27. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The seat is usually leaned so far back that the part of the belt that's supposed to be against the shoulder would be blocking their view.

    28. Re:And so preventable by ksheff · · Score: 1

      they government wants you to keep paying taxes instead of dying.

      --
      the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
    29. Re:And so preventable by Toshito · · Score: 1

      It is legal to not wear a seat belt in the back seat in many jurisdictions, and the regulation where it is required is enforced in even fewer.

      You're right, and I find that quite strange.

      Maybe some legislators need an update on the laws of physics, and the facts that they apply to all the car and not just the front seats.

      --
      Try it! Library of Babel
    30. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The people you are sharing the car with can make a decision on whether or not to ride with you if you decide not to wear a seat belt. The same way you can decide whether or not to ride with someone who doesn't wear a seat belt. Simple right?

      However, it's not so clear cut when there are kids involved.

    31. Re:And so preventable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, they look at you like you're from Mars when you try to click in. And I will say, more so on the east coast than the west coast, in the USA. Then they proceed to weave in and out of rush hour traffic with complete disregard for human life (their own, yours, and any others unlucky enough to be on the road and/or the sidewalks nearby).

      Long story short, I take a subway whenever possible.

    32. Re:And so preventable by ejasons · · Score: 1

      Was her son's name Brutus?

      Nope, Bam-Bam...

  11. Game Theory by PPH · · Score: 1

    decision-making in situations of conflict

    Sounds like the New Jersey Turnpike alright.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  12. Nash just got the Abel price! by Terje+Mathisen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just 5 days ago, John F. Nash and Louis Nirenberg got the Abel price in a ceremony in Oslo:

    http://www.abelprize.no/

    With a diploma handed over by the Norwegian King Harald and a NOK 6M prize this is the closest thing math has to a Nobel prize.

    Unlike the Fields Medal there is no age limit, so just like the Nobel prizes it tends to be given out at a later date, for work that has proven itself to be really outstanding.

    Terje

    --
    "almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"
    1. Re:Nash just got the Abel price! by HuguesT · · Score: 2

      This is a terrible irony. His death is most untimely indeed. Here is a high-level description of Nash's work on PDEs by C. Villani.

      I personally have extreme admiration for Nash’s work on partial differential equations. He wrote just one paper on the subject, in 1958 (Continuity of solutions of parabolic and elliptic equations), but this one of the most astonishing works in the history of partial differential equations. His proof has been often described as complicated, but I find it extremely attractive, and I also like a lot the way the paper is written: with a lot of explanations about his intuition and the way he arrived at the result. The genesis of the paper is fascinating, as discussed in Nasar’s book. By the way, one of the ingredients in the proof is Boltzmann’s entropy functional.

      Here is another description from the Abel Prize page.

      The paper is here.

  13. Fear of Driving by sonicmerlin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It amazes me how nutty people get over "terrorists" when the roads are like a civilized version of Mad Max. People constantly die every day. Tens of thousands of lives unnecessarily lost every year just to automobile accidents. I feel like I'm the only rational person when I experience a certain apprehension every time I get behind a wheel, knowing that while racing through space in a multi ton coffin, even a small mistake could send me careening to my death.

    1. Re:Fear of Driving by NotInHere · · Score: 1

      People get nutty because media get nutty. Media get nutty about terrorists attacks, because these are things to report about. Basically, they do exactly what the terrorists want them to do: spread the information about the event.

      If a plane crashes, media report, because hundreds of people die at the same moment. No news channel will send live 4k helicopter footage from all 300 car accidents that would be needed to create a comparable number of deaths on the road.

    2. Re:Fear of Driving by HalfFlat · · Score: 2

      Consider if the media did do this — detail the (on average) 90 people killed in the US on the roads in one day. And then did it again the next day. And the next. And the next.

      Perhaps then the population would demand a proportionate response. Or at least would place the current risk from terrorism in context.

      Once that's done, we could move on to cancer.

    3. Re:Fear of Driving by ScentCone · · Score: 2

      It amazes me how nutty people get over "terrorists" when the roads are like a civilized version of Mad Max. People constantly die every day. Tens of thousands of lives unnecessarily lost every year just to automobile accidents. I feel like I'm the only rational person when I experience a certain apprehension every time I get behind a wheel, knowing that while racing through space in a multi ton coffin, even a small mistake could send me careening to my death.

      The difference is that while you are indeed taking a small risk every time you get on the road, you have the luke-warm comfort of knowing that just like, you the vast majority of other people on the road don't want to die themselves, or see you die. Doesn't mean they're all as careful as they should be, and some are indeed belligerent and dangerous on the road, though they are the minuscule exceptions. Most accidents are the result of inattentiveness in one form or another, or poor judgment.

      People, on the other hand, who do things like blow up train loads of passengers in London or Madrid, or who try to blow up an aircraft on final approach over Detroit, or who park a car bomb in Time Square ... they're trying to kill you. It feels different because it is different. We all internalize certain risks, but bristle - very reasonably - when we learn of someone who, out of malice, wants to kill you and everyone else nearby. A dead kid is awful. But there's something substantially different between a kid on a sidewalk getting killed by an out of control car, and a kid like the one in Boston, who had his guts blown out by someone who stood there, looked right at him, and decided to set his IED down on the sidewalk right next to him.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    4. Re:Fear of Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You would probably have a panic attack behind the wheel in my city. Extremely bad drivers, so much that I assume someone is going to turn at every corner whether or not I see a turn signal. Potholes you can ball up and fit inside of. Lights that sometimes, usually when I'm at them, decide two perpendicular directions should go at the same time. It's nerve wrecking and drains every ounce of money I get repairing the suspension, axels and wheel barrings.

    5. Re:Fear of Driving by lazy+genes · · Score: 0

      It's the most ignorant form of transportation in the universe. If you add the cost of the injured to the equation, it's easy to see just how unsustainable it is. It would be equal to a global zombie outbreak. The only answer that I can come up with is that we are not an intelligent species.

    6. Re:Fear of Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you, by chance, the Geico caveman?

    7. Re:Fear of Driving by strikethree · · Score: 1

      American traffic is pretty tame compared to many other regions: Middle East and South Korea come immediately to mind. The laws of physics do not apply in their minds. Other regions, like India or the Philippines are just plain chaotic as hell, not necessarily rude, but primitive.

      American traffic behavior may be poor compared to say, The Netherlands or Sweden, but it is MUCH more tame than a large majority of the world... and let's not bring Russian traffic into this discussion.

      --
      "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
    8. Re:Fear of Driving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quite true, American traffic is tame and most people here (except for seemingly 99% of taxi drivers) place a high value on human life. The equation seems to be very different in a lot of developing countries... saving 20 seconds for a paying airport passenger while looking macho is much more important than living to see the next day.

    9. Re:Fear of Driving by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but malicious intent is only a part of the threat equation. I'd rather have one completely incompetent malicious guy trying to kill me, specifically, than a thousand incompetent but well-meaning drivers around me.

      Just because malice feels more dangerous doesn't make it so. It may well be more reprehensible, but decisions affecting foreign policy and national security shouldn't be made based on feelings.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  14. when? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    TFA says May 23, summary says May 24.

  15. GMT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    GMT

  16. Alicia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    was his wife's name.

    1. Re:Alicia by HuguesT · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A pretty remarkable woman by all accounts. She stood by him (even though they divorced) through the dark decades of his illness and remarried after.

  17. Re: I'M the royal first poster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Respect is earned, not given.

  18. Conclusion drawn from this physics experiment by Tanman · · Score: 1

    Wear seat belts!

  19. Re: I'M the royal first poster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well that explains why you have none.

  20. Surprised no one has commented by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1- The accident wouldn't have happened if everyone on the NJ turnpike had gotten into smaller fender-benders for the greater safety of everyone instead of everyone trying to avoid all accidents creating a situation that leads inevitably to a fatal crash for one person.

    2- I heard John Nash died in a car accident on the NJ turnpike.. I think he thought he saw a deer in the road, being ridden by Ed Harris.

    1. Re:Surprised no one has commented by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1- The accident wouldn't have happened if everyone on the NJ turnpike had gotten into smaller fender-benders for the greater safety of everyone instead of everyone trying to avoid all accidents creating a situation that leads inevitably to a fatal crash for one person.

      For that uncanny canny remark you have just been promoted --- to a missile silo.

      In front of you are three unlabelled red buttons.
      One of them fools some of the people some of the time.
      One fools all of the people all of the time.
      One flushes the toilet.

      The question is: would you rather leave the toilet-water yellow than push an unlabelled button in a missile silo? Would your choice be different if the water was already yellow when you arrived?

  21. Re: I'M the royal first poster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Says the brown noser.

  22. Another bit of rationality by Whiteox · · Score: 1

    I liked this quote “I decided I was going to think rationally,” Dr. Nash told an interviewer.
    So he reasoned himself out of mental illness. That is brilliant.
    Basically a guy who thinks for himself, literally.

    --
    Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
  23. Game theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know the fault lies probably more with the ones who used his work than with Nash, but basically he's the man who based modern economy on paranoid delusions...