Study: Nobel Prize often Goes to Creative Thinkers, Not Specialists

Study: Nobel Prize often Goes to Creative Thinkers, Not Specialists

Experts often tell students to center their efforts on a narrow field to get a job after school. But recent research into Nobel Prize winners suggests that wider interests are important.

One of the winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was Danish scientist Morten Meldal. He received the award with two other chemists for their work on "click chemistry." Click chemistry describes when scientists create materials, such as polymers, that join molecules¹ together even in living things.

Meldal is 68 years old and works at the University of Copenhagen. When describing his career, Meldal said he started out as an engineer but changed to chemistry because, he "wanted to understand the world."

In a discussion with the Nobel Prize organization, he talked about his co-winner, Carolyn Bertozzi of Stanford University. He said "she has such a broad knowledge of both chemistry and biology and she knows how to utilize² her knowledge in a very exquisite³ way."

Meldal's experience and the way he sees things may come as a surprise to students. They might believe they have to center their work and school lives in one field to be successful.

But a study from professors at Michigan State University shows that is not always the case.

Michele Root-Bernstein and Robert Root-Bernstein published their study this spring in the Creativity Research Journal. They said that a large number of Nobel Prize winners can be described as "polymaths."

Polymaths are people who have many different interests in both their work and personal lives. Sometimes they are called "Renaissance⁴" men or women. That is another way of describing a person who knows a lot about many different fields.

The writers looked at past Nobel Prize winners and their students. They decided⁵ that when students of winners go on to win Nobel Prizes, some of what they learned from their teachers is how to live a life with many interests. They are, in a way, learning how to be creative.

Having many interests, the Root-Bernsteins wrote, permits scientists to look for creative ways to solve problems. In fact, one important part of science is not discovering answers, but recognizing problems that need to be solved.

The prize winners, the Root-Bernsteins said, transfer "skills, techniques and materials from one field to another."

They said Alexis Carrel won his Nobel Prize in medicine in 1912 by using techniques he learned from the clothing business. He realized that people who used thread to make and fix clothing had a skill that could be used in operations to put new organs into people's bodies.

In 1978, a professor from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania won the Nobel Prize in economics⁶. His name was Herbert Simon. He worked in many parts of the university during his career and supported projects in computer science, artificial intelligence, psychology⁷, philosophy and economics.

Outside of work, he played piano, wrote music, painted, made drawings and played chess.

In a book he wrote about his life, Simon said: "I can rationalize any activity I engage in as simply another form of research..."

One winner in medicine – Christiane Nusslein-Volhard – said in 2003 that she is "very curious and I like to understand things." She won her prize in 1995 for work she did on genetic⁸ controls in the early development of the embryos⁹ of insects and fish. But during some parts of her life, she made games called puzzles, drew pictures and wrote a cookbook.

In 2017, she told young scientists to avoid following the "mainstream¹⁰" and move out of their study areas in order to be independent and original.

The Michigan State professors study creativity. They found that most professionals are not like the prize-winners. The prize-winners are special in that they regularly look for the chances to learn new things, even outside of their jobs.

Nobel winners are nine times more likely to have experience in working with wood, metal or in the arts than most scientists. The writers also found that even those who win in a field like economics have experience in other areas. Some of the economics winners studied math, physics and astronomy¹¹ before doing their economics research.

The Michigan State researchers say that the Nobel winners have an open mind about their life experiences. Unlike many people who spend long hours at work and give up some of their outside interests, Nobel winners believe their hobbies are important to creativity.

Dario Fo won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1997. He talked about drawing and painting as a way to solve problems that came up in his writing. "When I'm having difficulty with a play, I stop writing so I can draw out the action in pictures," he said.

The researchers say that, even among people who do not win big prizes, those with many interests are often successful. They pointed¹² to a 2012 report about students who study two major fields in college. That study plan is called a "double major."

The writers, from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said double majors are often more creative and more interested in starting their own businesses than those who centered on only one study area.

Other researchers have found that having an outside activity that makes you think can be help predict future success in a job. Some of those activities include playing chess, performing music or creating art.

Words in This Story

click –n. the short, sharp sound made often by something fitting¹³ into something else correctly

broad –adj. wide, including many things

utilize –v. to use, to make use of

exquisite –adj. finely done, very beautiful or delicate

technique –n. a way of doing something using special knowledge or skill

transfer –v. to move from one place to another

thread –n. a long piece of material that is used to sew cloth or tissue

artificial intelligence –n. a field of computer science that aims to give machines the ability to "think" like humans

rationalize –v. to think about or describe something in a way that makes it seem correct

engage in –v. (phrasal) to do

curious –adj. to have the desire to learn more about something

mainstream –n. the thoughts, beliefs and choices that are accepted by the largest number of people

original –adj. the first example of something; something unlike other things

1 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

2 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

3 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

4 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

7 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

8 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

9 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

11 astronomy   

n.天文学

参考例句：

• Mathematics is connected with astronomy.数学与天文学有联系。
• Astronomy is an abstract subject.天文学是一门深奥的学科。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 fitting   

n.[pl.]设备，家具，配件，试穿；adj.适合的

参考例句：

• I'm going to a fitting tomorrow.明天我要去试穿新衣。
• The President's address was a fitting end to a bitter campaign.总统的讲话为一场激烈的竞选运动适时画上了句号。