Slartibartfas

In my opinion this years peace nobel prize went to someone who really deserves it: Muhammad Yunus

He is from Bangladesh and has studied in the US. He dedicated itself to found and run a bank that gives microcredits to the poorest of the poors. Those credits are secured by small ower-groups that grant for each other the repayment.

People who never ever would get a chance to get out of misery and poverty suddenly can afford to buy a goat to sell milk for example. And after starting to earn money they can expand their tiny self made enterprises. And in the end when going the way consequently they eventually can afford for a home credit, to build an own house.

Yunus has helped in that way a vast number of the poorest people of Bangladesh. Yunus explained that he founded his bank not only to give the poorest ones a perspective but also to stop their exploitation through immoral credit-banks. Therefore people are not punished if they dont pay back their credits in front of a court, but of course they loose their chance to take a new microcredit before they dont pay back their old one. (Payback rate is at 99%)

His bank has allready 6,6 million customers, just to give you an idea of the dimensions.


The world would need more people like this man. Help the poorest to help themselves.

superbug

I'm not that impressed with the Nobel Prize at all. I kind of consider it fly over news, kind of like fly over country. You know it's there but you don't really pay attention to it.

Slartibartfas

Think about it as you like. But the scientific community thinks differently. And also the other Nobel prizes are payed attention at.

And you know why? Because unlike other prizes, that one is really about money, much money, not just honour.

superbug

How much do they get? Around $1million? So it's not really that much. I can get more in a pay out from the Florida Lotto.
I know their are those that think a lot of the prize, I just see it as a prize that really doesn't amount to anything. Kind of like an Oscar.

Slartibartfas

Yeah its like Lotto. But unlike Lotto those get the millions who deserve it, and you dont have to pay in statsitically more than you get out. No one pays in, but the best people get currently 1.1 mio € out if they achieved something really great. And Oscar is really a completely other chapter. The one thing is movie culture and the other social and scientific and literatural achievements.

Lotto is just a fake. People do pay more into the pot than all together get back. Such a prize in contrast simply honours you with 1.1 million € in case they think you are responsible for a major break through, without demanding any fees or payments before.

The Nobel prize is today considered to be the most important scientific prize one can acquire. Thats a not really contested fact, as far as I know.
I dont know if you just dont care about it (would be understandable), or you think it is insignificant for the whole scientific community. In the latter case I would have to ask why.

superbug

It's not that I just don't care about it, most everyone I know doesn't care about it.

Slartibartfas

You dont know to many scientists, do you?

And why do you not care? Because you dont care about science, or not for prizes in general, or because its of European origin? ...

superbug

I know a lot of engineers, and a few scientists.
As to why I don't care it's because the people that win are along the lines of anti-American.

Slartibartfas

You dont care of it because of politics? Fascinating.

I did not know there are so many anti American Americans nowadays Especially in the many completely a-political branches of the prize.

Even the peace nobel prize winner this years is quite a-poltical. Giving credits to the poor hardly could be tied to a partisan issue. And I very sincerely hope its not an act of Anti Americanism in your eyes either.


And things like the methode of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or now the one of RNA-interference have reached within years such an immenant importancy that they really deserve to be subject to a prize. In how far that has anything todo with Anti-Americanism remains a riddle for me.