The Annual Nobel Prize Awards Show!

Last night, I had an incredibly interesting discussion with my girlfriend, Meghan, about the nature of the Nobel Prize, seeing as how it's that time of year again when Stockholm grants the prestigious award to some of the year's most notable pioneers in various academic disciplines. The discussion began with questioning the nominations procedure, which admittedly I was unclear of and consequently had to look up in this comprehensive Wikipedia entry. After finding out that nomination records are sealed and never publicly announced (not even to the nominees), the discussion progressed to whether the Nobel Prize would work as a more popular, Academy Awards-type ceremony that is broadcast on television intended for mass viewing and media coverage.

I actually find this very intriguing. Sure, the Nobel Prize is covered in The New York Times and the like, but I wonder if broadcasting a ceremony in the style of popular television, movie and music award shows would generate enthusiasm among the public for academia and perhaps even engage viewers to pursue their own intellectual endeavors. People complain all the time that the American public is becoming more apathetic with regards to intellectualism, so why not try to appeal to the public in this fashion?

As an added bonus, it would also be splendid to watch Al Gore walk up stage to receive a Nobel Peace Prize (this is just speculation!) while an announcer says, "This is Mr. Gore's x nomination.."

Speaking of nobel prize, how is the prize for physics and for medicine this year? Giant Magnetoresistance is crucial for storing large amounts of date on hard disk, leading to the developments like the Ipod. Genetic Manipulation in mice also is pretty interesting.

By the way, big shout out to Marginal Revolution , Greg Mankiw and all the guys who have pointed out Intrade's betting pool for this year's Nobel Prize. Economists can be such dorks, but I love it. Who do you think is going to win the Nobel Peace Prize? The website seems to favor Al Gore...

Oh, and Oprah? Really?