In 1924, John Nash Sr. and Virginia Martin marry in the parlor of their home in Bluefield, West Virginia. John is conservative, serious, and deeply “concerned with appearances,” with a strong wish for “everything to be very proper” (27). An electrical engineer, he has a love of science and technology and a sharp mind.

Virginia is a vital woman “with a less rigid spirit than her quiet reserved husband” (27). She had once been a passionate teacher but left the profession to marry John. She will later draw on this background to encourage her son’s education.

On June 13, 1928, the Nashes have their first child, John Nash Jr. Even at a young age, Nash is “solitary and introverted” (30) and as he grows, he continues to eschew the company of other children, spending his time reading and experimenting in his room. His parents encourage his studies but also want him to be more sociable, pushing him “as hard socially as they [do] academically” (33).

At school, Nash is smart but not remarkable. In math, he refuses to accept the teacher’s preferred methods, often demonstrating that convoluted solutions could instead “be accomplished in two or three elegant steps” (34).