How would you like the government telling you what you can and cannot eat? Generally speaking, we tend to be uncomfortable with governments acting as our parents, telling us what to do or trying to use the coercive arm of the state to influence our behaviour. However Richard Thaler, of recent Nobel Prize fame, argues that […]
Nobel Prize
Nobel prize in literature 2017: Kazuo Ishiguro receives award
Having chosen, amidst considerable controversy, to award last year’s Nobel prize in literature to singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, those waiting for this year’s announcement were naturally a little uncertain of exactly what to expect. Therefore, I found myself somewhat relieved and more than a little satisfied to discover this year’s recipient was Kazuo Ishiguro, a writer […]
“The Times, They Are a’Changin'”: Thoughts on Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize
It was the first year of my English literature degree, and I had earnestly proposed to my seminar leader that I write my summative essay on Bob Dylan’s lyrics to A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall. I was not a little upset when the slightly bemused professor replied that I could not write an analysis of […]
Nobel Prize winners for 2016
The Nobel Prize Committee has officially announced its recipients for the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, Physics and Medicine or Physiology. The Nobel Prizes were established by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel in 1895, and are recognised as one of the highest accolades in science, literature and peace. This year, two of the prizes have been split […]