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2010 Ig Nobel Winners Announced

Posted by kdawson on from the whale-snot dept.

Velcroman1 writes "Having trouble breathing? Try riding a roller-coaster. Really. A pair of Dutch researchers who discovered that the symptoms of asthma can be treated with a roller-coaster ride are among this year's winners of the Ig Nobel awards, the infamous annual tribute to scientific research that seems wacky — but also has real world applications. FoxNews.com has interviews with several award winners, who are all ecstatic to win, despite the fact that they're all gently being poked fun at."

5 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Last prize really Ig Nobel? by line-bundle · · Score: 5, Insightful


    And finally, a project at the University of Catania in Italy was awarded the management prize for demonstrating mathematically that organizations can improve efficiency by promoting people randomly.

    This research deserves a far better prize than the Ig Nobel. Just look at the management in companies! An algorithm far worse than random is being used to select the worst of the worst to run companies.

    I believe most institutions run in spite of management.

    And don't mod this funny.

    1. Re:Last prize really Ig Nobel? by sznupi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      From their site: "The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology." Certainly fits; contrary to what many people think it's not about "stupid" research. After all, the prizes "are physically handed out by genuinely bemused Nobel laureates" - would perceiving the whole thing only as harmless fun be enough to get them so easily aboard?

      PS. Also, you jump too quickly to conclusions - the effect might as well be, for example, that when people know the promotions will be random, they don't care too much / there's no infighting / the random ones aren't worse enough (but with other positive effects it pays off) / etc.

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      One that hath name thou can not otter
    2. Re:Last prize really Ig Nobel? by ceoyoyo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ig Nobels are not really an insult. They CAN be, but they aren't necessarily.

  2. Re:Fox News! Burn it! Burn it with fire! by clang_jangle · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Actually yes, pretty much. Using Fox News as a source for a story is like using Encyclopedia Dramatica as a source. It may have amusement value, but as far as finding literal truth you're probably out of luck. Of course, this is also at least partly true of nearly all the mainstream media outlets nowadays, but Fox is by far the worst. It's where people go to have their belief systems affirmed, not where they go for actual news.

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    Caveat Utilitor
  3. Re:Fox News! Burn it! Burn it with fire! by arth1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Indeed -- no group has monopoly on narrow-mindedness; there is just a higher proportion of liberals among progressives than many other groups, but each individual progressive can be as close minded and prejudiced as a trailer park reverend.