Thursday, July 22, 2004

A Beautiful Mind

I was really impressed by this movie and so I decided to read the book by Sylvia Nasar. Its not an easy book to read and I've taken about 2 months to finish it - but I must say the effort was worth it. I am not super good as far as mathematics is concerned, never was infact, but I do appreciate it a lot better now than I used to. But the book just bowled me over as I came to realize the sheer genius of the man (John Nash). I've had a chance to see the man for real, when he came to Delhi for a game theory conference. He seemed a mere shadow of the character which Russell Crowe portrayed in the movie. But the book taught me so much more - he has done some phenomenal amount of work and I only thought he did his Nash Equilibrium and non cooperative games stuff !
The book is tragic, inspiring and heartwarming at the same time. Kudos to Ms. Nasar for writing some great stuff. Anyone who's loved the movie ought to read the book and do not let the maths deter you - the spirit and courage of the genius which shines through the book will help bridge that gap ......

Is the whole world getting married?

In the last few months atleast a dozen of my friends got married - what is the matter with folks out there?
I've seen it happen to one of my colleagues - from the moment he got married, he's walked the razor's edge.
He does that fine balancing act between buying groceries for home and solving some uber complex math problem everyday. I've seen him stay up nights, working and hacking away at a keyboard just to get some sensible numbers on a screen while still not forgetting to sms his sweetheart every 30 mins because she feels lonely at home. Ask him anytime and he'll advise you not to marry ..... ever !
But then there I times when I see them together and there's that momentary glint in both their eyes and a feeling of bliss on their faces which makes me wonder ! Perhaps even this not so utopian marriage has something special which misses the onlooker's eye .... May all my friends find that something to keep them and their marriages going lifelong.
Cheers !!