
A Beautiful Mind (1998) - sajid
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/1998/06/a-beautiful-mind-199806
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Syzygies
I got to know both John Nash and Silvia Nasar, through working as the math
consultant for the film "A Beautiful Mind". I had about a day's notice to meet
with Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman, and Todd Hallowell for my interview, and I
somehow managed to read the book in that interval. This excerpt is wonderful
and shorter.

~~~
shanacarp
What is he like in person

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acqq
The film

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Beautiful_Mind_(film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Beautiful_Mind_\(film\))

"was inspired by a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-nominated 1998 book of the same
name by Sylvia Nasar."

This article is an excerpt of that book published by Vanity Fair.

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nxzero
>> "On May 23, 2015, Nash and his wife, Alicia Nash, were killed in a car
crash while riding in a taxi on the New Jersey Turnpike."

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash_Jr](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbes_Nash_Jr).

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dmix
Wear seatbelts in taxis! I know a few friends who don't do this. I don't know
why people treat taxis as different from other cars.

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shanacarp
I know a few real people like this. It's hard for them

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michaelsbradley
Me too. One is surrounded by his immediate family (who are well-to-do),
providing him a home, i.e. more than a place to live: unconditional love and
support, safety, and heaps of patience in the face of frequent problematic
behaviors and offensive outbursts. He is, in fact, a mathematical genius and
was a semester short of a Ph.D. before his mental health utterly collapsed and
the school had no choice but to send him packing. He seems to be dimly aware
that he suffers from serious mental illness, but never sticks with treatment
for any length of time. He's now alienated from most of his friends of several
years ago, and sticks close to home. I have hope that one day he'll make a
recovery and be able to pursue some of his brilliant insights into the
physical sciences.

The other friend alternates between being a street person for long stretches
and a recluse living in a townhouse that a distraught family member purchased
for him years ago. He is now estranged from his family, without any support
besides meager monetary assistance from the government. He ends up arrested
and/or beaten by the police two+ times per year. His paranoia and erratic
behavior are off the charts – I've become physically afraid of him on several
occasions and departed his presence in haste. An uncle of his and I signed
papers to have him committed at one point... but the docs only kept him for a
couple of days, since he refused all treatment while staying fairly well
behaved (after some wild episodes at the beginning of his confinement). I
learned the latter details from his public defender... long story. Of course,
after he was turned out on the street, he spiraled down even further and none
of us (friend, family) saw him for a couple of years. This friend is not so
intellectually gifted as the first, though he possesses a remarkable memory
and attention to detail. Sadly, I have little hope that he'll ever make a
recovery or be able to find a way to support himself. I'm worried he's going
to end up dead in a ditch at some point, and it makes me sick to my stomach
that "the system" can't do more for him.

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bpchaps
Thanks for telling your stories. It's very clear that you care for them. It's
personally comforting to know that there are those out there who don't simply
dismiss these sorts of issues. Help as much as you can, and continue shareing
your stories/struggles. Every ounce of awareness helps.

Cheers.

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nathancahill
The drop caps layout can be fixed by adding these CSS rules:

    
    
        display: inline-block;
        margin-top: -0.16em;
    

For latest Firefox at least.

