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Committee Lowers Nobel Prize Award

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the economics-of-the-prize dept.

Snirt writes "The Nobel Committee has chosen to lower this year's Nobel prize winnings by two million kronor ($283,030) due to turbulence in the current economic climate. The prize now stands at 8 million kronor, down from the 10 million of 2011. 'The reason behind this decision is that the financial markets are really unstable and there are reasons to suspect that this turbulence will continue for a while still,' said Lars Heikensten, head of the Nobel Committee, to the TT news agency. 'Long term, we aim to raise the figure, even though we think that the Nobel Prize's value should lie in the prize itself and not the prize money,' he said. While Heikensten admits that it was a 'tough decision' to cut the prize money, he told the news agency that it's not the first time the prize sum has been altered, adding that it has been lowered and raised several times over the past few years."

6 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Forget it by ewg · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was going to try winning one, but now? Forget it!

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    org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
  2. I lucked out by million_monkeys · · Score: 4, Funny

    Good thing I didn't get selected for a Nobel Prize this year. I think I'll wait til they raise the prize back up before unleashing my brilliance upon the world. I do feel sorry for those suckers winning one now. They're getting screwed over. Just another data point that shows hard work is never the fastest way to riches.

  3. Nobel prize lowered by $283,030 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Or vagina.

  4. Re:They are irrelevant by million_monkeys · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Peace Prize is hit or miss. I just about gave up on it after they blew one on the worthless UN, but then they sucked me back in a little by giving it to Muhammad Yunus, someone who's actually praiseworthy. (Unlike Barack Obama, who's launched more cruise missiles than all other Nobel Peace Prize winners combined, although I realize that even among the committee that made the decision it was a controversial decision.)

    Those were Cruise Missiles for Peace. So that's completely different. It's like that old saying goes, "you got to spend money to make money". In this case you've got to kill people to save people.

  5. Gender equity by icensnow · · Score: 4, Funny

    They lowered it to 80% of its former value? A sure sign that they're planning to give them to women this year.

  6. Re:They are irrelevant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think that whole "We shot Bin Laden" speech would have been more effective if he'd delivered it with his peace-prize medal draped around his neck.