Nobel Laureate Peter Higgs chose to disappear on a holiday without his mobile to evade the media frenzy that follows the announcement. He must have been pretty sure he would win- and, of course, he was heavily tipped to.
How the news is given and how it is received is a story in itself- and it's well told here. Often, people are disbelieving: how could they be sure it's not a hoax? Sometimes, there is a stunned silence. At other times, people just want to be by themselves to digest the enormity of it all. Those tipped to win will be more than a little tense on the given day - if it's a Tuesday, it's Chemistry, Wednesdays are for the Physics prize-and Economics the following Monday. These prizes are announced by the permanent secretary to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Sweden. Peace, medicine, literature- these are left to others.
FT has a good article on why the Nobel remains the most sought after and respected, despite attempts by other endowments to outdo the Nobel in terms of money.
Nice article and links.
ReplyDelete- Ravishankar