The Work and Intelligence of John Forbes Nash, Jr. in A Beautiful Mind, a Film by Ron Howard

John Forbes Nash, Jr., popularly identified as John Nash, was an American mathematician from Bluefield, West Virginia. He was a recipient of Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994 for his perform “mathematics of game theory.” He started functioning on this given that the 1950s and when he lastly proved this theory, it became a study which has been used mainly in economics up to this day. John Nash was considered a genius, specifically a Math genius but in 1959, he was diagnosed for possessing paranoid schizophrenia (Morris, 2015). His work and intelligence became the inspiration of the award-winning film “A Lovely Mind.”

Generally, the major character in the film who was John Nash had a extremely intriguing character. Even though he was very wise and was regarded as a genius, Nash discovered it hard to deal with other individuals. As an alternative of speaking and obtaining entertaining with other students in the university, he was busy solving equations. In the film, Nash admitted that he did not like men and women and he thought folks did not like him. Nash was also disheartened as he heard about other students publishing their personal paper while he could not even find a topic for his doctorate.

Nevertheless, he came up with a great concept one particular day and from right here, he began operating on his theory which took him decades to finalize. Like what John Nash stated to a single of his colleagues in the university, he was patient and such patience led his perform to being recognized. Even though Nash was afraid of social interaction at very first, he at some point created buddies but he got attached to only two persons: his wife Alicia and his Charles Herman.

John Nash’s Behaviour and Theories of Character

Adler’s theory of character may explain the character of John Nash. In some components of the film, he became aggressive because his need to have to excel in class or attain some thing was not satisfied. Due to the fact of his want to come up with his original thought, Nash started having delusions which created him violent later in his life. Kelly’s individual construct theory can also support clarify the behaviour of John Nash. Kelly believed that option interpretations are always accessible and Nash behaved based on his interpretation of things. Due to the fact he thought he was getting chased by Russian spies, he ran away and started getting paranoid.

John Nash and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Requirements

Maslow’s theory about the hierarchy of needs can be associated to the major character in the film, John Nash. According to this theory, there are certain demands that men and women are motivated to accomplish. The fundamental wants of a particular person are physiological requirements such as meals, water and shelter. People perform hard to satisfy these needs and apparently, John Nash did not lack any of these physiological needs. Hence, he had to move on to the subsequent level which is the need to have for security. As shown in the movie, Nash worked for the government by deciphering codes in the Pentagon. When he met Alicia and fell in really like with her he thought about marrying her so he wanted to quit this job. When the physician went to the university to take him to the hospital, he kept running away, thinking the medical professional was a Russian spy (Milnor, 2008).

Apparently, John Nash got scared for his own safety as he believed they had been chasing him because he wanted to quit his job. His case was various from other folks nonetheless. John Nash was delusional and his delusions led him to considering a person was going to hurt him. He believed that someone was spying him and the Russians locked him in the hospital to stop him from doing his leading-secret perform for the government (Kuhn & Nasar, 2007).

Basically, he wanted to obtain the second level of the hierarchy of wants and this need to have could explain his paranoia. Nash also mentioned in his autobiography that he had mental disturbances when his wife got pregnant so he had to stay in the hospital to get treated once again. His mental disturbances might have been triggered by his fear of his wife’s safety. Once again, his behaviour showed his need for security not only for himself but also for his wife and their baby.

When he was diagnosed of paranoid schizophrenia, his medical doctor also identified out that Charles Herman was really his imaginary roommate. The doctor discovered that Nash lived alone in Princeton University and that there was no Charles Herman studying there. When the medical professional took Nash to the hospital, he saw Herman sitting there and Nash believed his “prodigal roommate” was the cause he was getting locked up (Shorter, 2015).

The truth that Nash had an imaginary roommate only showed his require for really like or belonging. In the beginning of the film, it was shown that Nash did not like socializing and his schoolmates typically bullied him specially the guy whom he deemed his competitor. Because of this, Nash usually locked himself in his space, scribbling Mathematic equations in the window. This was when his imaginary roommate Charles appeared. This only showed that Nash wanted a person to speak to and somebody who could recognize him. Nash possibly needed somebody to affirm his suggestions and encourage him although every person else was shaming and turning him down (Capps, 2004). By way of Charles Herman, Nash was capable to satisfy his require for belonging, pondering he finally identified a person who got his back and would not judge him.

When Nash began teaching, Charles disappeared in his life and appeared again one particular day. It only implies that when Charles was not present, he was completely sane but when he saw and talked to him, Nash was not mentally well. Apart from Charles, Alicia also happy Nash’s want for adore and belonging as she married him regardless of his mental condition and stayed with him until the end. Since of his illness, he discovered it difficult to obtain the fourth level in the hierarchy which was esteem. Fortunately, he surpassed all the mental challenges he faced and since of his patience, he lastly came up with his personal theory and much more than that, it was recognized by absolutely everyone and he was even awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics following operating on his ideas for 4 decades. This gave him self-esteem and after satisfying all the demands in the four levels of the hierarchy, he ultimately achieved self-actualization although it took a really extended time.

Addressing Nash’s Behavioural Troubles

Based on what theory one particular will use, Nash’s behaviours could be interpreted differently. For instance, if a person will use the object relations theory, he is going to assume that Nash lacked individual contact or partnership at an early stage of life. This assumption will be held false since Nash had good relationships with his family and also had a typical childhood. Also, the symptoms of his mental illness only occurred when he was past 30 years old.

Concisely, these 3 theories can address relevant variables influencing the behaviour of John Nash. Nash’s aggression at some point became motivation for John Nash to continue the thought he has been functioning on for many years. This developed fantastic outcomes which helped him achieved self-actualization. Kelly’s personal contract theory may possibly also address the way Nash interpret certain factors given that Kelly believed that these interpretations can also be altered by taking a great appear at the reality. If a person interprets factors primarily based on reality and only thinks about achievable and realistic outcomes, delusions and mental disturbances can be prevented.