For one hundred six years, the NOBEL PRIZE has been perceived to be the preeminent recognition of an individual as the “top-of-the-heap” in a filed of endeavor.
Alfred Nobel gave explicit instructions in his will that the recognition and prize would be bestowed upon the individuals who had given the “GREATEST BENEFIT ON MANKIND”.
Here’s a brief, simple, overview of how it is accomplished. The NOBEL COMMITTEE sends approximately three thousand (yup, 3,000) “nominating forms” to individuals, generally preeminent academics, in a relevant area of endeavor (wonder who selects these “preeminent individuals”). The NOBEL COMMITTEE then selects/nominates three hundred out of the three thousand (wonder how they do that). The NOBEL COMMITTEE then prepares a “report” (whatever that is) reflecting experts in the relevant filed of endeavor and submits the report to the prize-awarding institutions. The institutions then select a “winner”. Each institution has its own process (not generally known) to select the “winner”.
It is abundantly clear that the process and the people involved in the process can produce questionable results. Specifically…….who the hell was responsible for the “selecting process” to select Barrack Obama for the peace prize in 2009. PEACE PRIZE? For a guy whose history was (1)no records of high school and college, (2)admitted drug use, (3) a “community organizer”, (4)short term as a state legislator, (5)a backroom deal to create a taxpayer funded high paying job for his wife, (6)coming out of nowhere to get elected president (7)most of all….absolutely no history of anything to do with peace…….only months before being awarded the prize.
That was the most devastating strike against the image, reputation and integrity of the NOBEL COMMITTEE………..until now.
The NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE was just awarded to…….are you ready……….Bob Dylan. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN’ MIND ? BOB DYLAN ? ? ? What three thousand individuals, generally preeminent academics, in a relevant area of endeavor got the nominating forms? It’s not possible to find three thousand such individuals. It might be possible to find three, four, ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, individuals who are in a “relevant area of endeavor”. That “relevant area of endeavor” being……..folk singers….during the period of hippies…..flower children……and the other misguided members of the “sub-cultures” that emerged and allowed popularity to minimal talents like Dylan. The only way that any of those folk singers could be called “preeminent” is that they became popular. And it’s impossible to believe that any of the recipients of the nominating forms were “academics”.
This “recognition” by the Nobel Committee/Swedish Academy……awarding the Nobel Prize For Literature to Bob Dylan…….forces the question………”Who the hell are these people?”. Whoever they are, they absolutely DID NOT make the selection according to the command of Alfred Nobel………recognize a person whose contribution to the world was “THE GREATEST BENEFIT ON MANKIND”.