The Dilution of the Nobel Prize

The University of Chicago is a very unique place and stands first and foremost as a world-class research institute, where the best of the best come only to discover there are those who are even better. Of the many things the University prides itself on, at the top of list is its outrageous number of Nobel laureates among its faculty and graduates, past and present. I believe the count is currently at 79.

So what is the effect of being surrounded by so much greatness? Well, quite rapidly, my perception of the Nobel Prize fell, and quite unjustly so. At one time, the Nobel Prize seemed like the pinnacle of scientific achievement, the highest goal of any researcher, what many strive for their entire lives. But at the University of Chicago, it seemed as if having a shiny Nobel attached to your name only began to qualify you to work amidst the ranks of the world’s greatest minds. It was like a prerequisite, a staring point, a tick on the resume (or curriculum vitae) that said, “See? I got mine in 1972. Now let’s go on to my more important achievements.” From there the Nobel laureates differentiated themselves into the scientific greats and intellectual giants, between the normal prize-winners and the ones who would make it into freshman intro textbooks and be immortalized as persons who completely revolutionized their fields.

But then, this isn’t right. The Nobel Prize is certainly not something to be taken lightly. And there’s a simple explanation as to why I’ve come under this oddly conceived notion that will naturally correct its course: I just don’t know enough about what it takes to get a Nobel Prize. This is why initially my view of the Nobel Prize declined once I arrived at the University. However, as I’ve become more exposed to what winning any academic/research prize involves and as I’ve slowly begun to understand how much is invested by recipients of each field’s greatest honors, my respect for the Nobel Prize has increased steadily, as it necessarily should. And so those scientists and researchers who “only” won the Nobel Prize appear much more heroic and likewise those scientists and researchers who not only won the Nobel Prize but also effected great and lasting change in their fields now appear legendary.

Basically, my point is that it’s easy to become used to luster and shine, but to truly understand and appreciate it comes much later.