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Solomon Lefschetz
Tucker is a Princeton mathematician who works on topology (the study of properties of geometric objects as they are preserved under certain deformations) and Lefschetz’s “right-hand man.” Tucker, who possesses a “rare willingness to defend unconventional ideas and individuals”—such as John Nash—serves as Nash’s thesis adviser and supports him throughout his career, helping to arrange replacement positions for Nash as his mental health begins to flag and he quits his academic posts.
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Albert Tucker Character Timeline in A Beautiful Mind
The timeline below shows where the character Albert Tucker appears in A Beautiful Mind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5 – Genius
...he doesn’t belong at the university at all, including Emil Artin. Though Lefschetz and Albert Tucker, Lefschetz’s right-hand man, defend Nash, his unpopularity with the faculty will become a problem later...
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Chapter 6 – Games
...with hexagons, putting black and white stones down on the board. When he later asks Tucker what the students were playing, Tucker responds, “Nash.” This is a game that Nash—a fan...
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Chapter 10 – Nash’s Rival Idea
In summer 1949, Nash asks Albert Tucker to supervise his thesis, surprising Tucker, who had had little direct contact with Nash. After...
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Later, Tucker would claim that he wasn’t sure if Nash’s equilibrium, the basis of his thesis, would...
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Chapter 13 – Game Theory at RAND
Shortly after Nash formulates his famous equilibrium, Albert Tucker formulates a similar theorem, the “Prisoner’s Dilemma,” to describe a situation in which two individuals...
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Chapter 16 – MIT
...spirit.” Nash also becomes close with Norman Levinson, a prominent MIT professor who, like Al Tucker at Princeton, plays the role of “sounding board and father substitute” to the young mathematician....
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