Don't Slack Off After Winning a Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prizes were announced recently and if you didn’t win one, let me offer some words of consolation. You didn’t receive one million dollars or become famous overnight, but at least you will continue to be productive.

Winning the Nobel Prize is like winning the lottery. As soon as you win it, your desire to keep working is eclipsed by your desire to sip cocktails on the beach. What’s there to work for? A second Nobel Prize? More money and fame? A wax figure at Madame Tussauds?

Each Nobel Laureate is a unique individual, of course, and some will continue to work hard in their fields. They have no idea how to relax. Only upon the urging of family members will they even consider hiring a personal trainer to teach them how to goof off.

Trainer: “Okay, Abhijit, first you put some Premier League soccer on TV.”

Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee: “Oh no, I could never watch that. Grown adults kicking around inflated spheres.”

Trainer: “What do you watch for relaxation?”

Banerjee: “YouTube highlights from the World Economic Forum. Grown adults kicking around theories from their inflated spheres.”

Yes, some Nobel Laureates may have trouble relaxing, especially after working hard their entire lives. But a recent study indicates that Nobel Laureates in general become less productive and less impactful after winning the prestigious prize.

The study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, evaluated the impact of two major research awards, Nobel Prizes and MacArthur Fellowships, on the subsequent work of recipients. The researchers found that Nobel Laureates in science (chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine) published the same number of papers in the three years after winning the award as they did in the three years before winning the award. But the number of citations per paper diminished significantly, suggesting that they weren’t as impactful.

“These awards do not seem to enhance the productivity of the scientists,” the study’s lead researcher Dr. John Ioannidis told the New York Times. “If anything, it seems to have the opposite effect.”

The 2022 class of Nobel Laureates

The Nobel Prize is considered the most prestigious prize in science, literature, economics and, of course, peace-making. Not only does it come with a monetary award of $1 million, it propels the winner to instant fame. It’s almost like winning the Miss Universe contest, but without needing to look good in a swimsuit.  

While the general public may soon forget a Nobel Prize winner’s name, they are treated like celebrities in their field of study for years. If you have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for example, you may have an inkling what Taylor Swift goes through when you are mobbed at the European Conference on Polymers and Composites.

Instead of conducting cutting-edge research, a Nobel Laureate may be tempted to make paid speeches and other appearances. 

Ioannidis and his team of researchers also studied how age affects a prize winner’s productivity. They found an increase in publications and citations for laureates aged 41 and younger, and a decrease for those aged 42 and older. 

For most people, it might be hard to imagine slowing down at age 42. But if you’ve slogged away and done something amazing to win a Nobel Prize, perhaps you’d feel like taking it easy for a little while, maybe even moving permanently to The Bahamas, accepting a position as Resident Genius of Grand Bahama Island.

Nobel Laureates who continue to be productive may be rewarded in many ways, including earning themselves a second Nobel Prize. Indeed, five people in history have received two Nobel Prizes each. The most recent to do so was American chemist Karl Barry Sharpless, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001, slacked off for two decades, then won it again in 2022. No, of course he didn’t slack off. He worked his tail off.

Don’t be surprised if he eventually wins a third Nobel Prize. He’s only 82.