Dear Nobel Prize Committee Members,
For many years I have read the lectures given by the Nobel Prize winners. They give a great insight into the personalities of the winners and their struggles to break new ground in their subjects. The Nobel Prize highlights some of the greatest breakthroughs in our understanding of the world that we live in, and although I don’t claim to understand every aspect of the lectures, I find them inspiring. However, it is a curious fact that there is no Nobel Prize for mathematics.
I understand that when Alfred Nobel left most of his fortune for a series of prizes which he stated were for those who have shown the “greatest benefit on mankind.” However he limited the subjects to physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. Although I can appreciate that there are many reasons for limiting the number of prizes, missing out mathematics is a serious lack of recognition of its impact on the “benefits of mankind.”
I would like to you to consider a Nobel Prize for Mathematics. Mathematics forces a clear understanding of concepts and assumptions involved in a problem. It provides a logical framework for exploring and understand the world - where would we be without numbers, geometry and algebra ? Mathematicians use their skill, determination and imagination to extend the boundaries of our knowledge and develop methodologies and techniques that when applied improve the way that we live. It is interesting to note that outside of the awards for literature and peace there is invariably some form of mathematics supporting the subject that has been awarded a prize.
Since the first Nobel Prize awarded in 1901 mathematicians have made significant breakthroughs in our understanding of the world, for example: Alan Turing ( widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence ), Emmy Noether ( landmark contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics, in particular explaining the link between symmetry and conservation laws in physics), John von Neumann ( a pioneer in too many fields to list but include physics and computing, in particular the underlying computing structure used by every computer today ), Rudolf E. Kálmán ( breakthrough in filtering theory which was first used in Apollo navigation systems and today is guiding commercial aircraft and analysing the weather ), Beniot B. Mandlebrot ( developing insights into rough or chaotic physical phenomena seen in shore lines to societies ) are just a few who could have been considered for a Nobel Prize in mathematics. Imagine how many more breakthroughs in mathematics there would have been with the support of £600,000 prize money !
Of course there are already awards for mathematicians, for example The Abel Prize which is considered the ‘maths Nobel’ and through the media raises the profile of mathematics. However, the Nobel brand would raise the profile of mathematics to a higher level and a wider audience.
Although the list of Nobel prizes has stuck to the original list of prizes, adding another subject has been done. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, donated by Sweden’s central bank to celebrate its tercentenary in 1968 has remained on the list. I can appreciate that money will be required to support the on going prize for mathematics. However, if you signalled that you were open to the idea of adding mathematics to the list of prizes, then maybe some of the major companies who rely on mathematicians such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft, might be willing to set up an endowment to provide the on-going financial award - what do you think ?
I can appreciate that you are busy assessing future recipients for the Nobel Prizes, but please can you find time to consider adding mathematics to the list. Its inclusion to the list of Nobel Prizes will finally recognise its impact on the “greatest benefits of mankind”.
Best regards,
A Mathematician