Nash Equilibrium Inventor John Nash Killed in a Car Crash

The mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. (86) died as a victim of a car crash in New Jersey on Saturday together with his wife Alicia. Brilliant mathematician and Nobel Prize winner is best known for his contribution to game theory and his Nash Equilibrium theory. Many claim that his brilliance resided with the simple fact that the conclusions he came to were essentially quite simple.

According to the media reports Alicia and Nash were probably not wearing seat-belts when the accident happened and they were both declared dead on the scene.

Nash’s lifetime struggle with mental illness inspired the classic movie Beautiful Mind in which Russell Crow played the genius mathematician. The film is based on Nash’s life and tries to explain the game theory.

In poker community Nash is well known for his contribution to game theory and his Nash Equilibrium. Players apply Nash theory mostly to the heads up play as well as in Sit’n’Go heads up action when they are in a push/fold mode.

This theory is used to determine what decisions would be the best in certain situations and many believe that Nash theory was invented primarily for poker. However, the applications of the theory are infinite and people are using it on daily basis in different fields economy to biology.

Nash Equilibrium theory is defined as a stable state in which no player can gain advantage through unilateral change of strategy assuming the others do not change what they are doing. For example if both players are aware of the correct strategy of the game and Nash theory is adopted, neither player will benefit by changing their decisions.

However Nash Equilibrium theory, for which John Nash won the Nobel Prize, cannot be applied in the games that involve chance, for example monopoly. Even though poker also includes element of luck it is defined as a game of skill and Nash theory can be successfully applied to it.

According to the Nash’s theory, the best outcome is doing something that maximizes a person’s benefit while assuming the other person will do exactly the same in order to suit their own best interest.

Just last week, Nash received $500,000 Abel prize for his achievements in mathematics alongside with Louis Nirenberg. They received prize for the work on partial differential equations used to describe movement, change and velocity.

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