The Nobel Piss-Prize!

"The whole of my remaining realizable estate shall... constitute a fund, the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind... ...one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction... It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of the candidates, but that the most worthy shall receive the prize, whether he be a Scandinavian or not." - from The Will of Alfred Nobel

Has the winners of the literature prize really fulfilled what Nobel expressed they should. I don't think so. Perhaps Jean-Paul Sartre did, awarded in 1964, but he declined the prize because he consistently declined all official honours. Cudos!

Winners by nation (all prizes included) since it began the USA is in the top position with 270 awards followed by United Kingdom (100), Germany (77), France (49), Sweden (30), Switzerland (22), Netherlands (15), Italy (14), Denmark (13), Japan (12), Austria (11), Canada (10), Belgium (9), Norway (8) and the rest with 6 awards or less (list from 2002)!

Still a lot of Scandinavians there for such a small group of nations, and only 34 women... ever! Perhaps Nobel should have included no consideration whatever shall be given to gender in his will. Ok, I know what you might be thinking.

1. The top nations have the best research facilities i.e. they get awarded.
2. Women haven't been allowed into science for that long.

Well, you only need a pen and paper to write a book. And also a lot of people who get these awards don't really need them. They have already had a career. Why not grant money to young and struggling artists/scientists instead. After all it says in the will that the nominations shall be for people who during the preceding year have done some great work. Most winners did their work decades ago!

In 1968 a Memorial Prize was added called The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel! I don't think I need to make a comment on this folly!

Anyway, this is one of the most famous things Sweden has granted the world and like cheese from the Alps it is full of holes!

© deviadah