I would not dare to say that there is a direct relation between mathematics and madness, but there is no doubt that great mathematicians suffer from maniacal characteristics, delirium and symptoms of schizophrenia. John Forbes Nash More Quotes by John Forbes Nash More Quotes From John Forbes Nash I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found. John Forbes Nash discoverylovelife Classes will dull your mind, destroy the potential for authentic creativity. John Forbes Nash creativitymindclass As you will find in multivariable calculus, there is often a number of solutions for any given problem. John Forbes Nash givenproblemnumbers People are always selling the idea that people with mental illness are suffering. I think madness can be an escape. If things are not so good, you maybe want to imagine something better. John Forbes Nash peopleideasthinking Rationality of thought imposes a limit on a person's concept of his relation to the cosmos. John Forbes Nash cosmoslimitsrelation Gradually I began to intellectually reject some of the delusionally influenced lines of thinking which had been characteristic of my orientation. This began, most recognizably, with the rejection of politically-oriented thinking as essentially a hopeless waste of intellectual effort. John Forbes Nash rejectioneffortthinking Statistically, it would seem improbable that any mathematician or scientist, at the age of 66, would be able through continued research efforts, to add much to his or her previous achievements. However I am still making the effort and it is conceivable that with the gap period of about 25 years of partially deluded thinking providing a sort of vacation my situation may be atypical. Thus I have hopes of being able to achieve something of value through my current studies or with any new ideas that come in the future. John Forbes Nash vacationyearsthinking In a dream it's typical not to be rational. John Forbes Nash rationaltypicaldream Though I had success in my research both when I was mad and when I was not, eventually I felt that my work would be better respected if I thought and acted like a 'normal' person. John Forbes Nash madresearchwould-be In madness, I thought I was the most important person in the world. John Forbes Nash madnessimportantworld I know that if I could really understand mental illness, then it would be appropriate to make a big career shift. I would become a therapist and a leader in terms of mental illness. But I'm not in the position. John Forbes Nash careersleaderwould-be There are things that tend to moderate with age. Schizophrenia is somewhat like that. John Forbes Nash schizophreniamoderatesage To some extent, people who are insane are nonconformists, and society and their family wish they would live what appear to be useful lives. John Forbes Nash insanewishpeople It's better to be dead, or even perfectly well, than to suffer from the wrong affliction. The man who owns up to arthritis in a beri-beri year is as lonely as a woman in a last month's dress. John Forbes Nash lonelymenyears Nowadays we can do computer experiments using Mathematica, and even solve a system of 42 equations. This offers another route to knowledge, rather than mere ideas. John Forbes Nash computerscienceideas I seem to be thinking rationally again in the style that is characteristic of scientists. However this is not entirely a matter of joy as if someone returned from physical disability to good physical health. John Forbes Nash stylejoythinking I had been offered fellowships to enter as a graduate student at either Harvard or Princeton. But the Princeton fellowship was somewhat more generous, since I had not actually won the Putnam competition... Thus Princeton became the choice for my graduate study location. John Forbes Nash fellowshipcompetitionchoices I later spent... five to eight months in hospitals in New Jersey, always on an involuntary basis, and always attempting a legal argument for release. John Forbes Nash jerseyeightmonths I never saw my grandfather because he had died before I was born, but I have good memories of my grandmother and of how she could play the piano at the old house. John Forbes Nash grandmotherplaymemories
