Topic 1: THE NOBEL PRIZE

Hi all,

I'm very new to EC and the main reason I decided to join this community is to improve my English, of course.

I'm usually very shy and I'm an introvert at heart. Thus, starting a blog and public my writing is not easy for me. I'd like to thank Mr. Bob for giving me the courage to write, even though my writing is not perfect. With  your help in this community, I'm sure that I can improve my writing in no time. I will definitely return the favour if you ever need someone to proof read your work. Please don't hesitate to let me know.

Mr. Bob suggested that I choose one of the topics in the following site, Listen a Minute, and start to write on the topics with my own words. Nobel Prize was the topic I randomly chose.

The original article was:

"I wonder why the Nobel Prize is so famous. Sure, the people who win it are very clever, but they’re not really superstars. I’ve usually heard of the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize because they’re always in the news. But have you ever heard of the Nobel Laureates for Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, etc? Even though I read a lot, I only sometimes know the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. I like reading about who won the Nobel Prize. It makes me want to be like them. Of course, I can never win such a prize, but I can study more. Some of the Nobel Prize winners of the past are really famous. Einstein and Mother Theresa are perhaps the most famous. I was shocked to learn Gandhi never won the Nobel Peace Prize."

I appreciate any kind of comment or feedback, and I don't mind to be heavily criticised either.

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The Nobel Prize is a prestigious award established in the 1800s after the famously known Swedish inventor, Alfred Nobel. I myself have nothing against the fact that the Nobel Prize has become widely recognised. In contrast, I  believe its reputation has a certain impact in our lives. The world would have became much different and advanced than ever if the young generation had looked up to the Nobel Prize winners rather than mainstream 'superstars'. Scientists and activists who devoted their lives to benefit humankind surely deserve respect and  appreciation. The Nobel Prize serves this purpose: to embrace the work of these dedicated humanists. However, like any organization, the Nobel Prize shares its own controversies and criticism. 

The prize is conferred on scientists in extensive fields from Chemistry, Physics, Literature, Medicine, Economics to Peace; but Mathematics. This is one of the main drawbacks of the Nobel Prize. It is argued that Maths is not a practical discipline. Yet any any science is explored and developed based on the fundamental principals of Maths. Omitting a position for mathematicians is a significant perforation. The Field Medal and the Abel Prize are established to acknowledge  the discoveries in Maths. They are described as 'The Nobel Prize for Mathematics'.

The second shortcoming of the Nobel Prize is it is awarded for who in the proceeding year has delivered the greatest benefit on humankind. Nevertheless, the contribution would be fairer to compare over a life time but the limitation of 365 days. Many inventions and discoveries take a great length of time. Investigating someone's yearly work to nominate for the prize isn't truer than giving out scholarships for students who raise their hands most of the time in the class but the ones who perform best in exams.

Another notorious issue is the Nobel Prize laureates are not always deserving. Being political biased and scientific misguided are the main influence in wrong decisions. Honouring the wrong heroes is iniquitous and unethical,  even insulting.  For such a prominent and high profile award like Nobel Prize, impartiality and accuracy are the most basic and imperative principals. Infringing these rules not only causes severe consequences but also devalues the prize itself. It questions the validity of former as well as future laureates. One infamous case of Nobel Peace winners is Wangali Maathai in 2004, who gave credibility for the theory that HIV was invented by white scientists in order to annihilate the black population. Perhaps the  Nobel Prize should have had another prize for delusional conspiracy theorists.

To sacrifice oneself for the good of humankind is something extraordinarily beautiful. The world we live in sure has a dark side. The men and women who constantly push the darkness away deserve veneration and admiration. The Nobel Prize indeed helps us to embrace these prestigious people. Surely the prize has imperfection and  needs continual improvements. Yet the main concern is not the fame of the prize itself. What is our exact interest in the Nobel Prize and its laureates except a fleeting curiosity when the 'the Nobel Prize season' comes through every year?

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Comments

  • Well, I think you didn't get my point. A hero of a nation may be villain of other nation. Likewise, politicians are always debatible topic even their own country. Anyone, So, what I said should be considered as one of shortcomings. So far as the word "impossible" is concerned, this word, itself, says " I m possible " :)

    The topic is interesting, I could talk more, but you, yourself, decided what I said is impossible, so I give up :)

    Thank for explaining.
    Welcome to our small world, I wish, you keep it up
  • arif, thank you for your comment. I think you can check out the outline for the Nobel Prize Peace nomination here. Peace for 'everyone in the world' is very abstract, even impossible as you know how the world we live in. Yet anyone whose action has impact on peace even for a small country or region by risking his or her life/job is deserved to receive the prize.
    Say, in the Tiananmen Square protests (1989, China), many innocent people were killed by the communist. If, if any politician in the leadership at that time had prevented the massacres should also have had receive the Nobel Prize for peace. Of course that person would be eliminated by the communism government. You get what I mean.

    I only recently joined the site a few days ago and I am not aware about Simi or his/her blog. This is purely coincidence. This post was written by me and only me and the only reference I used was Wikipedia. However, if there is any doubt remained, I clearly cannot do anything but to continue blogging. I'm looking forward to your comment in my future posts.

    Thanks for the insight.

  • Urty, thank you! That word is redundant and it has been removed. And yes of course I'm more than happy to accept your friend request.

  • Let me disagree about a Noble Prize to be awarded to any politician. The reason behind my disagreement is that a politician serves a nation or nations of specific region, so (s) he might be hero or heroin for a nation or specific region, whereas Noble Prize should be awarded to the person, whose work is benefited to almost everyone in the world. Agree?


    If the merit be given importance in awarding Noble Prize, it may bear more and more best scientists, inventors, economists etc. Peoples, belonging to any region, may equally avail their works.

    PS: while I was reading your blog, it seems to me as if this blog has been written by Simi from India, deleted account January, 2014 :)

    Excellent work, you too deserve A Noble Prize from EC :)
  • To Mr Bob, AReality, Nora, Tara and Robbie, thank you all for being so supportive. I really appreciate for any corrections you have made or ideas you have shared. I'm sure there still are many mistakes in the post and you are more than welcome to point them out!

  • You presented your blog like a professional writer, Sami! Welcome to the club!

  • Great post, Sami! I learned a lot about the Nobel Prize here. I agree that Nobel Prize candidates are not always deserving. I love how you ended your essay with a thought-proving question. Great writing!

    Re corrections: 

    In On the contrary (or "In contrast")

  • Wow! This is really interesting. You took a small idea and really fleshed it out into a full grown blog. Never be shy again. :) 

    Regarding the prize with Obama: He is being severely criticized for thaking the US troops out of Iraq (by the same people who started the war). Also they are complaining about reduction in forces in Afghanistan. I think part of the reason for the prize was his promise to end the war in Iraq.

  • Hey Tree, I'm glad you can get something out of what I wrote.

  • Your blog is really informative. I have never heard about Nobel Prize for Wangali Maathai before. And you also use many words which are new for me so I have learnt some more. Thanks for sharing.
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