3 ms·

I can't help but think that the NSA would have taken the letter more seriously if had been typed. http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/nash_letters/nash_lette

I can't help but think that the NSA would have taken the letter more seriously if had been typed. http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/nash_letters/nash_letters1.pdf http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/nash_letters/nash_lett...

thebooktocome 15y ago
Type math? In 1955? That would have required specialized equipment, possibly a secretary. Nash clearly believed that the contents were of national security interest.
- moonboots 15y ago
  He should have invented TeX.
  - VikingCoder 15y ago
    I think he did. Unfortunately he also invented fonts that appear to be hand-drawn by a person suffering from schizophrenia. =(
    - vecter 15y ago
      I can't tell if you're kidding or not, but John Nash definitely did not invent TeX: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX.
    - SimHacker 15y ago
      Here's a font that appears to be hand-drawn by a person suffering from megalomania: http://www.fonts101.com/fonts/view/Uncategorized/34398/Dijkstra.aspx http://www.fonts101.com/fonts/view/Uncategorized/34398/Dijks...
- DanBC 15y ago
  The diagram with the red and blue lines is particularly "interesting" for anyone not keeping up with the math. "I'm not a crank. Here's a diagram of my machine." {Blue and red line everywhere}.
- rdl 15y ago
  I thought the standard thing to do was type the text and then include the equations or diagrams as hand drawn figures in empty space on the page.
jparise 15y ago
"I hope my handwriting, etc. do not give the impression I am just a crank or circle-squarer." It seems he considered how a handwritten letter might be perceived.
logicalmind 15y ago
Maybe the fact that it is not typed is a key to it's hidden meaning. Maybe there are reasons that only parts of this letter are clarified... In all seriousness, this pdf basically unreadable. It would be nice if there was a readable version available to the general public. If there is one, please let me know because this is very interesting.
- Tossrock 15y ago
  Basically unreadable? It's perfectly readable to me. Perhaps my own poor handwriting has given me better handwriting recognition.
  - logicalmind 15y ago
    The first time I looked at this pdf there were blocks of printed text all over the place that floated over the handwritten text. By floating over I mean literally covering the written text. After I read your comment I looked at it again and it was simply the handwritten text. I'm not sure if my pdf reader confused things or the nsa has a special redirect for me. But the complete handwritten text is perfectly readable to me now. I'm not sure what I saw before, but it was odd...

thebooktocome 15y ago

Type math? In 1955? That would have required specialized equipment, possibly a secretary. Nash clearly believed that the contents were of national security interest.

moonboots 15y ago
He should have invented TeX.
- VikingCoder 15y ago
  I think he did. Unfortunately he also invented fonts that appear to be hand-drawn by a person suffering from schizophrenia. =(
  - vecter 15y ago
    I can't tell if you're kidding or not, but John Nash definitely did not invent TeX: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX.
  - SimHacker 15y ago
    Here's a font that appears to be hand-drawn by a person suffering from megalomania: http://www.fonts101.com/fonts/view/Uncategorized/34398/Dijkstra.aspx http://www.fonts101.com/fonts/view/Uncategorized/34398/Dijks...
DanBC 15y ago
The diagram with the red and blue lines is particularly "interesting" for anyone not keeping up with the math. "I'm not a crank. Here's a diagram of my machine." {Blue and red line everywhere}.
rdl 15y ago
I thought the standard thing to do was type the text and then include the equations or diagrams as hand drawn figures in empty space on the page.

jparise 15y ago

"I hope my handwriting, etc. do not give the impression I am just a crank or circle-squarer." It seems he considered how a handwritten letter might be perceived.

logicalmind 15y ago

Maybe the fact that it is not typed is a key to it's hidden meaning. Maybe there are reasons that only parts of this letter are clarified... In all seriousness, this pdf basically unreadable. It would be nice if there was a readable version available to the general public. If there is one, please let me know because this is very interesting.

Tossrock 15y ago
Basically unreadable? It's perfectly readable to me. Perhaps my own poor handwriting has given me better handwriting recognition.
- logicalmind 15y ago
  The first time I looked at this pdf there were blocks of printed text all over the place that floated over the handwritten text. By floating over I mean literally covering the written text. After I read your comment I looked at it again and it was simply the handwritten text. I'm not sure if my pdf reader confused things or the nsa has a special redirect for me. But the complete handwritten text is perfectly readable to me now. I'm not sure what I saw before, but it was odd...