Are Nobel Science Prizes Prejudiced?
Cracker Jack's Nobel Prize
In my article List of Chinese Nobel Prize Laureates I noted that 8 of the 9 ethnic Chinese Nobel Prize Laureates are Chinese American. My point was that Chinese Communism, like the ideology of Islam, was holding back scientific progress. These great minds could only become great by breaking the shackles that held them back.
Likewise, the two Muslims who ever won a Nobel prize in the Sciences did so only when they left their native lands. [I am not discussing the Nobel Peace Prize which has nothing to do with mental abilities, after all Obama got one from a Cracker Jack's box]
In response, reader Eric, a Chinese-Canadian high school student from Surrey, British Columbia had this to say about the matter:
I do not believe that nobel prizes are indicative of contributions to society. Correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the main problems with giving nobel prizes to Arab or Chinese is that most of the judges of the nobel prize are not Arab or Chinese speakers.
...
The nobel prize is not unlike the Oscars or the Grammys - it is EXTREMELY difficult for non-caucasians to win such an award.
Allow me to correct you Eric. Many people make this mistake. They do not know how exhaustive and inclusive the selection process really is (1).
First let's dispense with the notion that it is anything at all like the Oscars. Yes, the Oscars are very exclusive - 99% of the Oscars for Best Picture were not only American-made but also Hollywood-made. However, as for Nobel Science Prizes, 99% are not awarded to any one group, one language, one ethnicity, one country, etc.
Of the 603 science prizes awarded only 16 Swedes (less than 3%) ever got one [Source: Wiki]. So obviously, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences which makes the final choice, is not biased toward their own countrymen.
There are two Jews in Sweden for every 1,000 population yet Jews have won 26% of all Nobel Science Prizes. That's 100 times more than you would expect based on their population. So obviously, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is not biased toward people of their own religion. In fact, the majority of scientists do not believe in God (2).
So if they don't favor their own countrymen, perhaps they are biased toward Europeans in general? Nope - less than half of all Nobel Science Laureates are from Europe.
Without doubt the majority of new scientific research is published in English and rightly so. Just as French was once the lingua franca of diplomacy and Yiddish was the lingua franca of commerce among European Jews, so English today is the lingua franca of science, international business, technology, aviation, and yes, even diplomacy. In this regard, it is not surprising that many of the Nobel Science Laureates come from English-speaking countries. Despite that, more than half of the Nobel Science Prizes were awarded to Laureates in non-English speaking countries. So obviously, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is not biased toward one particular language.
Now as to the allegation that most of the judges of the Nobel Prize are not Arab or Chinese speakers, recall that earlier I mentioned that 16 Swedes won a Nobel Science Prize. If you had to guess, Eric, how many speakers of Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Persian, or an Oriental language won a Nobel Science Prize? I know you'll get it wrong, the answer is 29 - that is almost twice as many as those from Sweden.
We conclude: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences does not award mainly to Swedes, or to Europeans, or even to Christians.
While there may be some very few controversies regarding the selection of Nobel Science Prizes, 99% of them are awarded on merit. Please do not confuse the Scientific awards with the Nobel Peace Prize, which is not decided by Swedes, has no standards, and is almost entirely political.
ENDNOTES
(1):
nobelprize.org, Nomination and Selection of Chemistry Laureates
Process of Nomination and Selection
Below is a brief description of the process involved in selecting the Nobel Laureates in Chemistry.
September – Nomination forms are sent out. The Nobel Committee sends out confidential forms to around 3,000 people — selected professors at universities around the world, Nobel Laureates in Physics and Chemistry, and members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, among others.
February – Deadline for submission. The completed nomination forms must reach the Nobel Committee no later than 31 January of the following year. The Committee screens the nominations and selects the preliminary candidates. About 250–350 names are nominated as several nominators often submit the same name.
March-May – Consultation with experts. T The Nobel Committee sends the list of the preliminary candidates to specially appointed experts for their assessment of the candidates' work.
June-August – Writing of the report. The Nobel Committee puts together the report with recommendations to be submitted to the Academy. The report is signed by all members of the Committee.
September – Committee submits recommendations. The Nobel Committee submits its report with recommendations on the final candidates to the members of the Academy. The report is discussed at two meetings of the Chemistry Section of the Academy.
October – Nobel Laureates are chosen. In early October, the Academy selects the Nobel Laureates in Chemistry through a majority vote. The decision is final and without appeal. The names of the Nobel Laureates are then announced.
December – Nobel Laureates receive their prize. The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony takes place on 10 December in Stockholm, where the Nobel Laureates receive their Nobel Prize, which consists of a Nobel Medal and Diploma, and a document confirming the prize amount.
Are the nominations made public?
The statutes of the Nobel Foundation restrict disclosure of information about the nominations, whether publicly or privately, for 50 years. The restriction concerns the nominees and nominators, as well as investigations and opinions related to the award of a prize.
Qualified Nominators
The right to submit proposals for the award of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry shall, by statute, be enjoyed by:
1. Swedish and foreign members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences;
2. Members of the Nobel Committees for Chemistry;
3. Nobel Laureates in Chemistry;
4. Permanent and assistant professors in the sciences of Chemistry at the universities and institutes of technology of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm;
5. Holders of corresponding chairs in at least six universities or university colleges selected by the Academy of Sciences with a view to ensuring the appropriate distribution over the different countries and their seats of learning; and
6. Other scientists from whom the Academy may see fit to invite proposals.
(2):
Nature Magazine, Vol. 394, No. 6691, p. 313,
Leading scientists still reject GodOur chosen group of "greater" scientists were members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Our survey found near universal rejection of the transcendent by NAS natural scientists. Disbelief in God and immortality among NAS biological scientists was 65.2% and 69.0%, respectively, and among NAS physical scientists it was 79.0% and 76.3%. Most of the rest were agnostics on both issues, with few believers. We found the highest percentage of belief among NAS mathematicians (14.3% in God, 15.0% in immortality). Biological scientists had the lowest rate of belief (5.5% in God, 7.1% in immortality), with physicists and astronomers slightly higher (7.5% in God, 7.5% in immortality). Overall comparison figures for the 1914, 1933 and 1998 surveys appear in Table 1.
Table 1 Comparison of survey answers among "greater" scientists
Belief in personal God 1914 1933 1998 Personal belief 27.7 15 7.0 Personal disbelief 52.7 68 72.2 Doubt or agnosticism 20.9 17 20.8
