Unlike other, and sometimes considered more prestigious fields of mathematics and science, game theory did not originate from ancient Greece or from anything similar. The most important figure in the origin of game theory is commonly considered to be John von Neumann (1903 - 1957), a Hungarian-American mathematical genius credited with pioneering in other fields such as geometry and physics. Most historians believe Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (1944), written by Neumann and German economist Oskar Morgenstern, created the game theory branch of mathematics, or at least the first instance of game theory relating to the economy.
The second of the two most influential game theorists in history, John F. Nash Jr. is perhaps more famous than even von Neumann. However, this is not all because of game theory. Nash’s life story inspired the biography A Beautiful Mind (1998) and the film of the same name, which won the 2001 Academy Award for best picture. Although the film focused on his personal life and battle with schizophrenia, Nash made great strides in the game theory field among others, developing what is today known as the Nash equilibrium. This is a phenomenon in which two players in a game reach a point in which changing strategies will not help them at all.
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