His schizophrenia struck when he was in his 30s. Most people get it much earlier. He didn’t have negative symptoms. But, it must be said that, during the time he lived, there were just FGAs for the most part. Now, we can try upto 25 different medications and see how we respond. He didn’t have that luxury. He found a way to cope with the illness though. His positive symptoms weren’t mild, they were severe. Check out a short documentary, “A Brilliant madness” on youtube to see more about his life.
His intellect was at Einstein level. Yet he suffered for the better part of his life, by some measures more severely than the average person today. This is because we have the luxury of having medications that weren’t available in his time. However, game theory is not his best brainchild. It is his work in Mathematics that is not covered in the movie that is regarded more, and quite possibly a lot of it came after the movie was made. So, basically, with mathematics, you find 100-200-300-500 years later how you may apply those abstract concepts in more concrete situations, such as, physics, economics, etc. So, the world may not have realized the true worth of his work in Mathematics just yet, but he did receive an Abel prize for his contribution to Mathematics after the movie was made. His intellect on a raw basis was probably even higher than Einstein.
If I could become an Actuary I will think I have accomplished enough in life. I am good at Math but nowhere near Nash. The deeper you go in the hole that is Mathematics, the further deep it becomes. Pure Mathematics is tough. Even physicists will say either you are born to be a pure Mathematician or you are not. Think of Christiana Ronaldo or Messi. Born to be there and are there. Mathematicians work in the same way, but Nash was probably a once in a century event. He was better than Messi in his domain. And, I know I am no Messi.
No, Sz is permanent. Because of the cognitive deficits, there is no cure. Maybe future medications … but probably not … future meds will likely work like the current ones do … just at higher magnitude.
If Depression is the Cold, Schizophrenia is the Cancer of mental disorders. Can it be stated any clearer?