The ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way that my mathematical ideas did. So I took them seriously.
I don't think exactly like a professional economist. I think about economics and economic ideas, but somewhat like an outsider.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Nash emphasizes a unique, outsider perspective on economics, rather than strictly adhering to traditional academic views.
In this quote, John Forbes Nash, Jr. expresses his distinctive approach to understanding economics. Rather than conforming to the conventional methods and thoughts of professional economists, he adopts an outsider's viewpoint, suggesting that this perspective allows for innovative ideas and interpretations in the field of economics. This approach reflects his broader belief in the value of independent, critical thinking.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about interdisciplinary approaches to problems, one might use this quote to illustrate the value of diverse perspectives.
More from John Forbes Nash, Jr.
All quotes →It is easy to say that there are the rich and the poor, and so something should be done. But in history, there are always the rich and the poor. If the poor were not as poor, we would still call them the poor. I mean, whoever has less can be called the poor. You will always have the 10% that have less and the 10% that have the most.
People are always selling the idea that people with mental illness are suffering. I think madness can be an escape. If things are not so good, you maybe want to imagine something better.
I think mental illness or madness can be an escape also. People don't develop a mental illness because they are in the happiest of situations, usually. One doctor observed that it was rare when people were rich to become schizophrenic. If they were poor or didn't have too much money, then it was more likely.
It's almost as if a demon might have passed from one host to another.
Similar quotes
You think, as you walk away from Le Cirque des Rêves and into the creeping dawn, that you felt more awake within the confines of the circus. You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.
People used to say, "Ignorance is no excuse." Today, ignorance is no problem. After all, you have "a right to your own opinion" - and self-esteem to boot.
When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of weekend dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that they can no longer see the heavens.
And there lies the horror: the past we remember is devoid of time. Impossible to reexperience a love the way we reread a book or resee a film.
But I believe the words entered me and changed me and still work in me. The words eat me and sustain me. And when I'm dead and in a box in the dark dark ground, and all my various souls have died and I am nothing but insensible bones, something in the marrow will still feel yearning, desire persisting beyond flesh.
I've always been an ironic dreamer, unfaithful to my inner promises. Like a complete outsider, a casual observer of whom I thought I was, I've always enjoyed watching my daydreams go down in defeat. I was never convinced of what I believed in. I filled my hands with sand, called it gold, and opened them up to let it slide through. Words were my only truth. When the right words were said, all was done; the rest was the sand that had always been.