Why do not mathematicians get the Nobel Prize? Different versions

Academician Alfred Nobel all his property after death bequeathed to translate into liquid values and put in a reliable bank. The revenues from these funds should be distributed annually into five equal parts, and be paid as a reward for services to humanity in the field of physics, chemistry, literature, medicine and the promotion of peace on the planet.

And why do not mathematicians get a Nobel Prize? Did the founder of the award decide that none of them would be worthy of it? Unfortunately, history can not provide a reliable answer, backed up by indisputable facts. This gave the ground for guesswork.

History of the Nobel Prize

The experimenter for his life has earned a good fortune, having patented more than 350 discoveries, including a barometer, a water meter, and a refrigerator. But he was universally known as the father of dynamite. In 1888, Nobel in the newspaper read an article with the title "Death Merchant Died" (in fact Alfred's brother died, but instead of him "buried" the inventor himself), and this made him think about what kind of trace he will leave behind in his memory Descendants. The lack of children and a great love of science led him to a gesture of altruism. Nobel decided to encourage inventors and public figures who work for the good of mankind. In 1895, the foundation was founded, the funds from which were to go to this good cause.

But why do not mathematicians get a Nobel Prize? There are several assumptions.

The practical version: the usefulness of inventions

They say that Nobel wanted to single out those spheres, the achievements of which bring obvious benefits to mankind and satisfy the urgent needs. He apparently did not consider mathematics as such. For the invention of dynamite, it did not come in handy.

Discoveries in this area usually do not become the property of the general public, and the benefits to humanity by and large are only indirect. Like, the new algebraic formula for bread is not namazhesh, whether it's a gas burner. Although such arguments are logical only with great stretch. The question immediately arises: what about literature? Yes, she teaches morality, but the benefits of it are also more abstract. Somehow suspiciously all this smells of prejudice towards the queen of sciences.

Love version: cherchez la femme

Blame for everything was jealousy. Already elderly, Alfred fell in love with young Austrian Sophie Hess and took her to his home in Stockholm. Officially they were not married, but he often called her "Madame Nobel". But one day Mittag-Leffler decided to take care of her.

He was the luminary of the tsarina of the time, and if the Nobel Prize were appropriated in this sphere, then it would surely have been awarded to him. Alfred could not allow himself to pay his rival out of his own pocket, and therefore he crossed out mathematicians from the list of encouraged scientific figures. The story is beautiful, but no evidence.

This clearly embellished assumption of why the mathematicians are not given the Nobel Prize has acquired numerous details: they say, Mittag-Leffler decided to priudarit for Sophie right before the eyes of the insulted Nobel in his own theater box. Invaded without invitation, he showered the naive companion Nobel with a lot of compliments, not even noticing that he stepped on the leg. Alfred, with his Scandinavian restraint, silently watched what was happening, and then asked Sophie who this nagglie was. She immediately trumpeted that this is a famous mathematician. And now all his colleagues are responsible for his impudence.

No matter how embellished this version is, it seems that there is some grain of truth here. Even such cold-blooded minds of humanity as Alfred Nobel can be prone to feelings of jealousy and revenge. Perhaps there was indeed a dislike for this Mittag-Leffler himself for other reasons (say, he constantly begged for donations to the University of Stockholm), but human fantasy has made here the affairs of the heart.

Just forgot?

It would be too trite. A great chemist, doctor of philosophy and academician did not suffer from sclerosis. The mathematicians themselves found the explanation simpler: Nobel did not mention this discipline, because she is the queen of sciences, and in the will had to be a priori, he simply did not voice it, and the slow-witted notary did not include it in the list. How clever and, most importantly, it's not insulting for loved ones.

If the founder himself wrote in his memoirs why the Nobel Prize is not given to mathematicians, then nothing would have to be invented. And so the answer to this question is growing with new bikes.

Alternative

Whatever the reason why mathematicians are not given the Nobel Prize, the Canadian John Fields decided to correct this historical misunderstanding and established an equally prestigious award of his name only for them. The award of such a medal is tantamount to universal recognition for the overall contribution to this discipline.

In 2006, she was to be presented to Grigory Perelman for proving the Poincare conjecture. But he became known as a mathematician who refused the Nobel Prize (that is, from Fields medal, equated to it). The reason - he considered the contribution of his American colleague Hamilton to the solution of this hypothesis no less significant, but that this award was not honored. It is noteworthy that the fundamental Perelman did not take and relying on him a million dollars!

As can be seen from this case, public recognition and reward are not always key to pragmatic scientific figures. Although it still seems unfair that mathematicians do not get the Nobel Prize. But I want to believe that for them science is above all, and they do not hold grudges towards a Swedish philanthropist.