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Why is that? I agree its somewhat disingenuous, and not representative of how mathematics is really done (most of which regular people would probably find pret
by pm90 8y ago
Why is that?
I agree its somewhat disingenuous, and not representative of how mathematics is really done (most of which regular people would probably find pretty un-exciting and mundane). But it does increase visibility about those things. Instead of John Nash being someone who only mathematicians/academics knew of, his name is now (somewhat) more better known, isn't it? A book and a movie.
To be honest, I grew up in a pre-internet, pre-wikipedia world, and without movies like those I maybe would have never heard/known about these folks and what they did.
- kevinventullo 8y agoI don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, but I do want to point out that they didn't make a movie about John Nash because he was a great mathematician, they made a movie because he was a great mathematician who had schizophrenia. It's not obvious to me that this image of mathematicians in popular culture is better than no image at all.
- adamnemecek 8y agoYeah, for some reason people love this idea of a tortured "genius". I think that it makes the audience feel better. The idea that people can be smart and also relatively ok would make people jealous.
- dondawest 8y agoName one genius who ain’t crazy. Seriously: ONE. Hollywood isn’t making movies about “tortured geniuses” to pander: they’re doing it to reflect reality.
- kevinventullo 8y agoPeter Scholze
- dondawest 8y ago$1000000000000000 says on a long enough timeline he will be proven crazy
- adamnemecek 8y agoDon't confuse eccentricity and actual mental illness. Schizophrenia is something else than say OCD or anxiety.