If the Nobel Prizes in the Sciences are like the Peace Award...

You can be a laureate in your first year of Graduate School (and with no publications yet to your name)!

Parody taken from Greg Mankiw's blog:

First-Year Grad Student Wins Nobel Prize in Economics!
From the Associated Press (with some light editing):

Pfuffnick's Nobel Economics Prize triumph hailed by many

LONDON — The surprise choice of first-year graduate student Quintus Pfuffnick for the Nobel Prize in Economics drew praise from much of the world Friday even as many pointed out the youthful economist has not yet published anything in scholarly journals.

The new PhD candidate was hailed for his willingness to tackle difficult problems, his commitment to improving the economic system, and his goal of bringing efficiency and equality into harmony.

Professor Paul Krugman of Princeton, who won the prize in 2008, said Pfuffnick's award shows great things are expected from him in the coming years.

"In a way, it's an award coming near the beginning of the first year in grad school of a relatively young economist that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our economy a better place for all," he said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of Mr Pfuffnick's message of hope."

He said the prize is a "wonderful recognition of Pfuffnick's essay in his grad school application."

On how to win a scientific argument against your co-worker

Two professors, one an organic chemist (A) and the other a physical chemist (B), were debating the merits (or workability) of a certain synthesis pathway. Students from both groups were also present in the meeting room. Temperatures started rising when the former accused B of not being an expert in A's area and was attempting to just bullshit his way through.

B shot back: "Have you published in Science for a similar starting material? I have."

What followed was silence in the room.

Classic. A friend (later) commented: "That's just a very unfriendly way to do science."

Imagine a Nobel laureate losing a scientific argument, then s/he says: "Have you won the Nobel Prize?"

N.B. The above methods will not work if you are not as accomplished as your opponent. Then it might be better to shut up (aka the 'Asian' way of showing reverence).

PhD Comics Tour of US campuses; 2005 Nobel Prize for Physics

Alerted by an entry on felumpfus' blog. Jorge Cham of PhD comics fame is coming down to visit! Go here to see if he's coming to your school.

Guess now it's time to buy his books (for his autographs!!!)

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The announcement of the 2005 Nobel Physics Prize reminds me of Alexander Pope's epitaph for Isaac Newton:

"Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night;
God said 'Let Newton be' and all was light."

And I am surprised to read about John Collings Squire's later couplet:

"It did not last: the devil, shouting 'Ho.
Let Einstein be' restored the status quo."

So this year's prize is about "results..fundamental for our modern understanding of the behavior of light," - Sune Svanberg, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Centenary of Einstein's Annus Mirabilis 1905 papers, one of which is on the quantum theory of light...