Re:Oliver Sacks on learning he has terminal cancer
by gwern on Thursday February 19, 2015 @12:08PM
(#9075187)
HN is, compared to the population of the West or even just the smartest 1% from which Nobelists would be drawn, a small place; on top of which, it skews young (Nobels are increasingly awarded to older people), and on top of that, I get the impression from media articles and other things that as soon as a top scientist become a Nobelist-with-a-capital-N, their already minimal free time shrinks to a size requiring an electron microscope to see.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Oliver Sacks on learning he has terminal cancer
by pilsetnieks on Thursday February 19, 2015 @01:09PM
(#9075693)
> Nobels are increasingly awarded to older people
It was my impression that the things the Nobel prize is awarded (at least the more famous ones) are one's that were discovered when the recipient wasn't that old, just that the prize is awarded a considerable time after the discovery. After all, the discovery has to prove its importance and stand the test of time.
Also, and it's pure speculation — if I were a Nobel prize laureate, I'd be able to discuss professionally interesting topics with more or less whomever I'd like, live, or in private or group correspondence, instead of a public forum.
Re:Oliver Sacks on learning he has terminal cancer
by gwern on Thursday February 19, 2015 @06:45PM
(#9077967)
> It was my impression that the things the Nobel prize is awarded (at least the more famous ones) are one's that were discovered when the recipient wasn't that old
It depends on the field, there's some analyses floating around about that. But the question wasn't, are there future Nobelists reading HN...