Comments on: Good News/Bad News: Nobel Edition

By: Phillip Helbig

Phillip Helbig — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:25:27 +0000

A national costume is perfectly acceptable also in Stockholm, and was used e.g. by Abdus Salam

IIRC, Salam created some problems for the protocol folks when he showed up with more than one wife.

By: Phillip Helbig

Phillip Helbig — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:21:32 +0000

“I am reliably informed that a regular tuxedo is not good enough; you need to go full white tie and tails. (Interestingly, the Peace Prize is more casual; black tie or “national costume” is perfectly acceptable.)”

I don’t know if this is the reason, but Norway is a bit more laid back than Sweden. Sweden was (and to some extent still is) a major industrial country (especially in relation to its small population) while Norway was a poor neighbour living mainly from fishing until oil was discovered in the North Sea. (As a result, it has a negative national debt, i.e. a surplus of about 50 billion (for a population of 4 million). Most of the oil money goes into a national pension fund.) Also, the fact that Sweden hasn’t had a war in a couple of hundred years means that more traditions have held on. In other countries, as a reaction to the (bad) past, there was a tendency to get rid of everything associated with it, whether or not it was bad in itself.

By: Sean Carroll

Sean Carroll — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:31:40 +0000

The anthropic principle.

By: Bob Kirshner

Bob Kirshner — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:28:48 +0000

How come Miss “Universe” is always from Earth?

By: KWK

KWK — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:21:48 +0000

I think the Nobel ceremony attendees should take their “national costume” cues from the Miss Universe pageant. I’d have paid good money to see Dr. Perlmutter, Dr. Schmidt, or Dr. Riess show up in this:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/211818/20110911/miss-universe-2011-u-s-voted-contestants.htm

By: Eunoia

Eunoia — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:50:02 +0000

Shame that the TBBT video cannot be seen from Germany, due to some obscure rights issue.

By: Thomas Larsson

Thomas Larsson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:54:31 +0000

A national costume is perfectly acceptable also in Stockholm, and was used e.g. by Abdus Salam (watch). A military gala uniform is also ok.

By: Anne C. Hanna

Anne C. Hanna — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:10:01 +0000

Here we go, maybe *this* is the American national costume:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/01/14/episode-ccxci-maybe-the-puritans-werent-all-bad/

By: Anne C. Hanna

Anne C. Hanna — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

JR, that tie looks to me like it’s some kind of iridescent red/blue combo, color-distorted by the low quality of that photograph. I suspect it probably would look more normal in person.

By: Kati

Kati — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:20:46 +0000

I’m with Anne C. Hanna above: “If I ever win a Nobel, I’m going in a suit, not a fucking dress.”

By: Bob Kirshner

Bob Kirshner — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:42:24 +0000

Brian is a deuteranope. Do not mock, or follow, his color choices.

By: JR

JR — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:50:11 +0000

Brian’s rocking the best tie:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shaw2006astro.jpg

By: Anne C. Hanna

Anne C. Hanna — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:09:46 +0000

Good question, Douglas. I wonder if it would be possible to convince them that it’s a T-shirt and jeans. Or maybe a Revolutionary War uniform complete with a tricorn hat?

By: Douglas Clowe

Douglas Clowe — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:39:29 +0000

So what is the US national costume that one could wear instead?

By: Anne C. Hanna

Anne C. Hanna — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:44:36 +0000

“…while ladies should be dressed in an evening gown.”

I see the sexist dress code is still in full swing. If I ever win a Nobel, I’m going in a suit, not a fucking dress.

By: Sean Carroll

Sean Carroll — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:36:16 +0000

If I ever get my own TV show, mocking Brian’s fashion choices will be high on my list of priorities.

By: Brian Schmidt

Brian Schmidt — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:32:26 +0000

I still get the rock pile at the top of the hill which my Subaru with good clearance comfortably clears. Feel a little left out not being derided by Sheldon though….

By: Bob Kirshner

Bob Kirshner — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:27:00 +0000

A few technical comments:

Members of the High-Z Team all sent our (metric) dimensions to the Swedish Tuxedo Warehouse (actually a very posh shop called Hans Allde) and were fitted on arrival.

These are frock coats, not tuxedos. Don’t try to outfit a wedding party in Stockholm during Nobel week — they are sold out!

Women can choose their own outfits. It would be a good thing, and not just from the fashion point of view, if there were more women winning these prizes.

By: Physicalist

Physicalist — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:27:46 +0000

Yeah, I remember the Nobel Laureate parking spots on the Berkeley campus. Does anyone else do that?