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by mhuffman 991 days ago
>Think the prize is politicized and corrupt? Whatever - it's not about you or your opinion.

Here's a hot take -- I think all the Nobel Prizes, not just the Peace Price are politicized, corrupt, pop-culture-ish, and basically just in-group accolades! Similar to the Academy Awards.

3 comments

Wait, are you implying that popular culture is bad? Should we simply not have popular culture?
>Wait, are you implying that popular culture is bad? Should we simply not have popular culture?

No, but probably not the best way to run science, academics, medicine, long-term civil projects, etc.

Well, Nobel Prizes aren't exactly "how we run science, medicine, etc." But perhaps you could argue that chasing Nobel Prizes is a counterproductively strong incentive in those fields (I have no idea if that is the case).
I've never been happier to be out of the in-group than I am on the day I learned Iranian prisons are part of the in-group.
I guess I'm not certain how any accolades could ever be anything but in-group accolades.
Well, the police giving a citizen that saved a baby and award for example. Or moviegoers praising a new film. I'm sure you can imagine a few. Whereas Nobel Prizes, Academy Awards, etc. seems to be a lot of self-dealing when they are not trying to get points for doing something that is currently popular in a "fad" sort of way.