What were they doing when they won the Nobel Prize? Einstein was in China at the time

As we all know, nobel committees will inform the winners by telephone a few minutes to more than an hour before the official announcement. And very arrogant, usually do not consider jet lag, probably good news has the right to disturb the other person's sleep.

This has led to the fact that half of the people in the highlights of life who won the world's awards are in their sleep; Half of them were hunting, grocery shopping, going to class, or in the kitchen, in the tavern, on the boat...

It is these various "scenes" that witness the authenticity, richness and vividness of this centennial award. It has become part of the Nobel Prize in itself.

The world's most popular "harassing phone call"

A few days ago, the Nobel Committee tweeted a brief interview with two winners of this year's Physiology or Medicine Prize, documenting what happened to the two California professors when they learned of their awards:

When the swedish call came, Professor Arden Pataptian was sleeping, after all, it was late at night in the United States, and of course it was not answered without suspense. But the committee did not know through what channels, but actually contacted Professor Arden's 92-year-old father, whose phone eventually woke up Arden. When the committee invited him to answer a simple question or two, Professor Arden said: "It's two o'clock in the middle of the night, and what might be said won't sound very clever.

Another Nobel laureate, Professor David Julius, also did not get notice of the award because the committee did not have his own phone number. Until the last moment, the professor's wife and the general secretary of the committee talked, and the general secretary said that he would announce the results of the Nobel Prize in 3 minutes, and asked her to call again in an hour. The professor decided it was a prank and decided not to respond. Until he turned on the computer on the kitchen table and saw the Nobel Prize live.

The reactions of the winners were expected by the committee, as this is almost every year. This also forms part of the Nobel Prize itself. The committee is happy to see professors face "surprise", otherwise it would be difficult to explain why they insist on calling this old-school contact method in today's social networks so conveniently; And why willfully always centered on Swedish time, pretending not to know that the other hemisphere was in the dark of night.

One of last year's physiology or medicine laureates, Professor Harvey Alter, said: "When the phone rang for the third time, I got out of bed angry. ”; Another winner, Charles Rice, received a call at 4:30 a.m. and his first reaction was "There's an accident in the lab!"

Also last year, the committee failed to contact one of the winners of the ST Economics Prize, Paul Mirghron, a professor at Stanford University, and instead "harassed" Paul's colleague and neighbor, Robert. At 2:30 a.m., Robert and his wife knocked on the door to inform Paul of the good news. The access camera system captured this historic moment: Paul was awakened in his sleep, rather impatient, but fortunately quickly understood what was going on, and "wow".

Romer, the 2018 economics prize winner, was also unhappy with the strange call at 4 a.m., hanging up twice in a row: "I didn't answer because I got too many spam calls" and "I think it's another harassment." ”

Nordhaus, another professor who shared the award with Romer, didn't get on the phone until the results were announced, and the committee chairman said: "Maybe we called too early, he was still sleeping." Isn't that obvious?

Of course, there is another situation - the phone is hung up because the other person does not understand English.

In 2002, 43-year-old Japanese employee Koichi Tanaka was walking on the way to work, when he suddenly received a phone call: in addition to knowing that it was an international long distance and the English spoken by the other party, Tanaka Koichi's pair of phone calls were very dazed, he did not understand much, and even thought that he had encountered a liar, and casually coped with a few words and hung up.

It can be basically concluded that if the communication efficiency is concerned, the Nobel Prize committee members may not be as good as some sales calls.

The grand prize is always reserved for those who are not ready

On October 11, 2007, journalists and photographers from around the world gathered outside Doris Lessing's home in London's sixth-western district. The old lady had just been announced as this year's Nobel Prize in Literature winner. But at the moment, the Nobel laureate himself is shopping at the grocery store.

40 minutes later, Doris Lessing and her son stepped out of a black cab and saw a lot of cameras and a group of photographers waiting closely. Dazed, she thought she was filming a TV series.

In 1965, the Soviet writer Sholokhov won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work "The Quiet Don". At the time of the announcement, he was hunting in the forest on the outskirts. Later, when he was receiving the prize in Stockholm, he said to someone at the venue: "On the day I learned of the award, I fired two shots into the sky, and in addition to dropping two geese, I also dropped the Nobel Prize in Literature very unexpectedly." ”

Thanks to the unique selection rules, the Nobel Prize has been committed to keeping the mystery to the end for more than 100 years. So the winners always start with "What do you say?" Is it me?" The blindfold was surprised to "Okay, got it!" Calmly in a state of being.

surprise? Although it cannot be said that there is none, it can basically be regarded as non-existent. After all, the winners have been practicing for many years and have a lot of knowledge. Winning awards is only a small part of their lives.

Calm: Malala, a 17-year-old female student in Pakistan, won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, thus becoming the youngest Nobel Laureate.

Malala also missed the historic moment of announcing the award, as she was taking chemistry classes at the time. Malala said that when she learned she had won the Nobel Prize, she chose to continue her physics and English classes, which she considered to be a normal day.

Sensuality: In 1956, the Spanish poet Gimenez, who was in exile in South America, won the Nobel Prize in Literature. When the congratulatory telegram reached Puerto Rico, he was in the hospital with his wife, who was suffering from cancer. In an interview, he said: "All my achievements are due to my wife. I should have been happy and proud to receive this honor, but I couldn't feel it because she couldn't afford it. I only regret this. ”

Three days later, his wife died. A grieving Gimenez did not attend the Nobel Prize ceremony. He did not attend any ceremony and died two years later.

Panic Faction: Another Nobel Prize winner for literature, Yasunari Kawabata, was having breakfast at home when he won the prize. When he received a good news call from a reporter from a foreign news agency, he panicked and said to his wife: "No, go somewhere to hide!" The wife replied very calmly: "It is the most basic courtesy to have to meet with the journalist today no matter what. ”

This world-class honor did not bring happiness to Yasunari Kawabata, but only made him feel bored and tired. He said: "It's just my good luck, my literature, just the so-called feeling thing." "I was a lazy and useless person." Just 4 years later, Yasunari Kawabata committed suicide by swallowing gas.

"Who made you give it to me?" The Austrian writer Jelinek was the recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature. The day after the results were announced, she held a press conference announcing: "I will not go to Stockholm to accept the award." "She first mentioned her own physical health reasons, and at the same time, she did not think that she was eligible for this award." Not joy, but despair," Jellinek said: "I never thought of winning the Nobel Prize, and perhaps it should be awarded to another Austrian writer, Pietr Handke." ”

It seems that every winner is not ready for the prize, and some are not even waiting to see the award.

Some people are prepared — not ready to receive the prize, but ready not to receive it. When the French philosopher and writer Sartre learned that he might win the prize, he immediately wrote to the jury to say no.

As a result, the committee insisted on itself and gave the literary prize to Sartre. Sartre, who was in a tavern with Beauvoir at the time of the announcement, wrote his famous statement the same day: "My refusal is not a hasty act, I have always refused to receive official honors" "Writers should refuse to be transformed into 'institutions', even in the form of honorable honors such as the Nobel Prize." ”

Einstein was notified of the award in China

Although the distance between China and the Nobel Prize is not so close, there is no lack of Chinese color in the history of the Nobel Prize. China has been silently involved in telling many Nobel Prize stories.

For example, the great Albert Einstein, the entanglement with the Nobel Prize, when he finally won this honor, was in China at that time.

On November 13, 1922, the "Kitano Maru" passenger ship docked at The Huishan Wharf in Shanghai, and Einstein and his wife stepped out of the cabin and set foot on Chinese soil. He was invited by the Japan Reform Society to give a lecture in Japan, passing through Shanghai for a short stay.

Einstein only stayed in China for 3 days, but in these 3 days he received the highest honor of his life - on the way to Shanghai, Einstein already knew from the ship's radio that he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, and at the first time on the shore, the consul of the Swedish Embassy in Shanghai officially informed him of the award.

Einstein did not go to collect the award that year, because he had already scheduled his trip to Japan in advance. A year later, in 1923, he went to Sweden to deliver his 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics, which he had won in 1922.

The Nobel Prize is a bit like Zhang Ailing's temper: I love you, it has nothing to do with you! The world's highest award in the field of science and technology and literature, just take care of yourself and act according to your own rules, whether you welcome it or not, you have to call you; Whether you accept it or not, give you the award!

So, the next time there is a call from a strange number, will it be answered or not? After all, it is possible to notify you to claim the jackpot...

Editor: Liu Dan Source: Jinan Daily