Explaining John Nash’s Dissertation and Why Russell Crowe Got It Backwards

In the Ron Howard movie “A Beautiful Mind,” Russell Crowe plays John Nash, a major figure in game theory. Although it was a good movie, it totally misconstrues Nash’s doctoral dissertation and how it fit into the pre-existing literature. In this episode, Bob sets the record straight.

Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:

• John Nash’s doctoral dissertation.
• Bob’s link for Liberty Classroom. (If you click this link and then register, the site will know you came from me.)
• Sylvia Nasar’s book that inspired the Ron Howard movie about Nash. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
• A good explanation of the Allais Paradox (which shows limits of expected utility theory).
• Bob Murphy Show ep. 96, which starts with critique of use of game theory.

For more information, see BobMurphyShow.com. The Bob Murphy Show is also available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and via RSS.