7. The Beautiful Mind Of John Nash Was Plagued With Schizophrenia
Dr. John Nash, Junior was the genius whose life story was depicted in the movie A Beautiful Mind. He was a brilliant mathematician whose contributions helped shape everything from game theory to partial differential equations to differential geometry. His work heavily influenced modern economic methods, and he even received a Nobel Memorial Prize in economics.
In his thirties, Nash began showing clear signs of mental illness. In a 1959 speech at Columbia University, he was supposed to deliver a lecture on Riemann geometry but instead gave an incomprehensible jumble of mishmash. He was soon admitted to a psychiatric unit, where he was diagnosed and treated for schizophrenia. His candidness about his journey with schizophrenia has been at least as influential as his contributions to mathematics.
