Nobel, Shmobel

With scientific work becoming more and more collaborative, Adaptive Complexity's Michael White thinks that the Nobel prize may slip into obscurity. He argues that Nobel-level work today is carried out by more than three principal scientists (the prize can only be shared among three people) and that the prizes, particular in biology, are generally awarded long after the work was completed when the scientists are nearing retirement. "This is in stark contrast to many of the mid-20th century prizes, which were frequently awarded to people still very active in the field," White writes.