“The Invisible Hand”
“The Invisible Hand” is one of the oldest symbols of modern economic theory in existence. Developed by conservative demigod Adam Smith, it is the ruling foundation of capitalism: the invisible hand represents the unseen forces of competition in the form of people acting in their own self-interest to create an equilibrium that results in all that self-interest transforming into the best interests of the collective population.
The Nash Equilibrium
“The Nash equilibrium” is John Nash’ groundbreaking and revolutionary contribution to economic theory that earned him his Nobel award and made him a legendary figure in the construction of game theory. It is also the symbolic incarnation of the reality which has long undermined the validity of Smith’s Invisible Hand for many economists. The idea of individual self-interest somehow changing like a caterpillar into a butterfly of shared interests for the common good has always been suspect for most serious economic theorists, but with the Nash equilibrium put to real world use in game theory, it has been revealed again and again how common pursuit of self-interests do not automatically cancel each other out in a way that produces a net positive gain for everybody.
B squared + RTF = 0
This equation formulated by Nash “represents a three-dimensional hyperspace, which has the singularity at the origin, in four-dimensional space.” Within this mathematic construct, Nash places himself at the point of singularity while the other variables symbolize everybody else who impacts his life. The very word “singularity” is enough to convey the meaning of this symbolism in which Nash characterizes himself as the center of a universe in which everyone else is merely a satellite in orbit around him.
Red Neckties
Red neckties become the symbol of Nash’s slide into the paranoia-fueled fever dream of schizophrenia. Its onset coincides with Nash beginning to notice how many men on the MIT campus seemed to suddenly be wearing ties that were red. Already prone to seeing patterns missed by others as a component of the genius side of his mind, the dark side naturally followed suit and the logical part of his brain which found order where everybody saw chaos was corrupted by the schizophrenic paranoia.
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
The climactic topper to Nash’s extraordinary life of incredible highs and mind-blowing lows arrives after a period decades spent in the wilderness. While he became a phantom on campus and a mere shell of his former genius, his brilliant work was slowly being recognized for the landmark revolution it was. Nash’s entire life has been a strangely appropriate alternate definition of Nash equilibrium in which the highs and the lows all seem to be connected to the same point of origin such that it is impossible for him to experience one without the other. This is symbolized by the fact that while Nash was awarded the honor by the Nobel committee at the very same time it is also true that this particular award is not technically considered a “Nobel Prize” in the sense intended due to legal mumbo jumbo having to do with—of course—the economics of the prize: the divergence in the source of the prize money. If there is a high for Nash, it must always comes with an asterisk.
