Another Nobel laureate with misgivings.

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nitrah55
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Another Nobel laureate with misgivings.

#1 Post by nitrah55 » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:30 am

This is from Mental Floss, by way of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me:

Robert Lucas, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on the theory of “rational expectations,” split his $1 million prize with his ex-wife. If there were a Nobel Prize for Foresight or Timing, I’d nominate her, based on a clause in their divorce settlement from seven years earlier: “Wife shall receive 50 percent of any Nobel Prize.” The clause expired on October 31, 1995. Had Lucas won any year after, he would have kept the whole million.

- And Einstein also split his Nobel money with his ex-wife as part of their settlement.
I am about 25% sure of this.

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christie1111
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Re: Another Nobel laureate with misgivings.

#2 Post by christie1111 » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:38 am

I read that Mental Foss article the other day. Some really interesting little stories.
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MarleysGh0st
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Re: Another Nobel laureate with misgivings.

#3 Post by MarleysGh0st » Tue Oct 13, 2009 7:47 am

nitrah55 wrote:This is from Mental Floss, by way of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me:

Robert Lucas, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on the theory of “rational expectations,” split his $1 million prize with his ex-wife. If there were a Nobel Prize for Foresight or Timing, I’d nominate her, based on a clause in their divorce settlement from seven years earlier: “Wife shall receive 50 percent of any Nobel Prize.” The clause expired on October 31, 1995. Had Lucas won any year after, he would have kept the whole million.

- And Einstein also split his Nobel money with his ex-wife as part of their settlement.
Since most of the Nobel Prizes (with the notable exception of the Peace Prize) are awarded for work that was done years or decades in the past, this clause actually makes sense to me.

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wintergreen48
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Re: Another Nobel laureate with misgivings.

#4 Post by wintergreen48 » Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:09 am

MarleysGh0st wrote:
nitrah55 wrote:This is from Mental Floss, by way of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me:

Robert Lucas, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on the theory of “rational expectations,” split his $1 million prize with his ex-wife. If there were a Nobel Prize for Foresight or Timing, I’d nominate her, based on a clause in their divorce settlement from seven years earlier: “Wife shall receive 50 percent of any Nobel Prize.” The clause expired on October 31, 1995. Had Lucas won any year after, he would have kept the whole million.

- And Einstein also split his Nobel money with his ex-wife as part of their settlement.
Since most of the Nobel Prizes (with the notable exception of the Peace Prize) are awarded for work that was done years or decades in the past, this clause actually makes sense to me.
Well, another reason it made sense is that he was a University of Chicago economist, and just about every tenured member of that department from that time period ultimately won a Nobel for Economics.
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