为什么诺贝尔奖没有数学奖？｜Why is there no Nobel Prize for Mathematics?

本周起,诺贝尔医学与生理学奖、物理学奖、化学奖、文学奖、经济学奖等奖项将陆续揭晓,而数学家们也将再一次感到自己被这个世界上最知名的科学奖项 “抛弃了”,虽然他们的工作明明也能“给人类带来最大的利益”,完全符合诺贝尔奖的评定标准。
Starting this week, the Nobel Prizes in Medicine and Physiology, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and Economics will be announced one after another. However, mathematicians will once again feel "abandoned" by the world's most prestigious scientific award, even though their work clearly can "bring the greatest benefit to mankind", fully meeting the evaluation criteria of the Nobel Prize

为什么当年阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔没有设立数学奖呢?Why didn't Alfred Nobel establish a mathematics prize back in the day?

以下是一些比较流行的猜测:Here are some popular speculations:

数学太理论化:作为一名发明家和实业家,诺贝尔设立奖项的初衷是为了奖励那些对世界有益的、杰出的“实用”发明或发现。他可能认为数学太理论化,没有太多实际应用。
Mathematics is too theoretical: As an inventor and industrialist, Nobel established the prize with the initial intention of rewarding those outstanding "practical" inventions or discoveries that are beneficial to the world. He might have thought that mathematics is too theoretical, without much practical application

数学并不有趣:诺贝尔自己的研究领域是物理和化学,他对文学感兴趣,而医学在世纪之交开始走向成熟,和平奖的设立是为了改善他作为发明炸药的“死亡商人”的公众形象。而他对数学既不感兴趣,也不需要感兴趣。
Mathematics is not interesting: Nobel's own research fields were physics and chemistry. He was interested in literature, and medicine began to mature at the turn of the century. The establishment of the Peace Prize was to improve his public image as the "merchant of death" for inventing dynamite. As for mathematics, he was neither interested in it, nor did he need to be

当时已经有著名数学奖:瑞典和挪威的国王奥斯卡二世本身就是数学家,他设立了一个著名的数学贡献奖。诺贝尔可能认为自己没必要复制一个已有的知名奖项,何况,他感兴趣的那些领域正好需要设置一些享有声望的奖项。
At that time, there was already a prestigious mathematics award: King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway, who was himself a mathematician, had established a renowned award for contributions to mathematics. Nobel may have felt there was no need to duplicate an existing famous award, especially since the fields he was interested in were in need of some prestigious awards

难道是因为爱情?还有一个劲爆的传闻:诺贝尔之所以没有数学奖,是因为诺贝尔的妻子与一位著名的数学教授有过一段风流韵事。恨屋及乌,诺贝尔就不想设立数学奖,怕未来不得不颁给他。
Could it be because of love? There's a sensational rumor: The reason why there's no Nobel Prize in Mathematics is because Nobel's wife had an affair with a renowned mathematics professor. Out of spite, Nobel didn't want to establish a prize in mathematics, fearing he might have to award it to him in the future

绯闻男二号,瑞典著名数学家哥斯塔·米塔格·莱弗勒The second male lead in the scandal, Gosta Mittag-Leffler, a renowned mathematician from Sweden

虽然这是一个很劲爆的八卦,但它并不是真的。While this is quite a sensational piece of gossip, it's not actually true

诺贝尔本人从未结过婚。尽管他年轻时曾向一位名叫亚历山德拉的女子求婚,但她拒绝了他。诺贝尔与自己的秘书伯莎·金斯基也有过一段恋情,最终以她离开,嫁给前男友冯·苏特纳男爵而告终。但即使如此,诺贝尔和金斯基也保持了终生的友谊。第三位是索菲·赫斯,他们保持了大约18年的关系,但他们从未结婚。
Alfred Nobel himself never married. Although he proposed to a woman named Alexandra in his youth, she rejected him. Nobel also had a romantic relationship with his secretary, Bertha Kinsky, which ended when she left him to marry her former boyfriend, Baron Arthur von Suttner. Even so, Nobel and Kinsky maintained a lifelong friendship. The third woman in his life was Sofie Hess, with whom he had a relationship for about 18 years, but they never married

伯莎·金斯基,后获得了1905年诺贝尔和平奖Bertha von Suttner, who later received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905

除了这些女人,没有任何证据表明诺贝尔与其他女人有任何明显的恋情。第一个拒绝诺贝尔的人出现在他生命的早期,她也没有和任何数学家结婚或有关系,诺贝尔就算有怨恨也不可能从这发展而来;诺贝尔和第二任女友是朋友,两人间没有敌意;第三任女友索菲·赫斯和诺贝尔的许多通信中也没有提及或暗示任何风流韵事。
Aside from these women, there is no evidence to suggest that Nobel had any significant romantic relationships with other women. The first woman to reject Nobel appeared early in his life, and she did not marry or have any relationships with any mathematicians, so it's unlikely that any resentment on Nobel's part could have stemmed from this. Nobel and his second girlfriend were friends, with no animosity between them. In many of Nobel's correspondences with his third girlfriend, Sophie Hess, there was no mention or implication of any romantic affairs

由此看来,说诺贝尔是因为“恨屋及乌”的嫉妒而不设立诺贝尔数学奖,是没有依据的。
From this perspective, it's unfounded to say that Nobel didn't establish a Nobel Prize in Mathematics out of jealousy, based on the Chinese idiom "hating the crow because of the house" (disliking someone or something due to association with a disliked person or thing)

让我们再看看其他诺贝尔对其他五个奖项做出的安排:Let's take another look at the arrangements Nobel made for the other five awards:

• 一份奖给在物理界有最重大的发现或发明的人;An award for the individual who has made the most significant discovery or invention in the field of physics
• 一份奖给在化学上有最重大的发现或改进的人;An award given to the person who has made the most significant discovery or improvement in the field of chemistry
• 一份奖给在医学和生理学界有最重大的发现的人;An award for the individual who has made the most significant discovery in the fields of medicine and physiology
• 一份奖给在文学界创作出具有理想倾向的最佳作品的人;
  An award for the individual who has created the finest work in the literary world, characterized by its idealistic tendencies
• 最后一份奖给为促进民族团结友好、取消或裁减常备军队以及为和平会议的组织和宣传尽到最大努力或作出最大贡献的人。
  The final award is given to those who have made the greatest efforts or contributions in promoting ethnic unity and friendship, in reducing or abolishing standing armies, and in organizing and advocating for peace conferences

当一位亿万富翁来到人生的末尾、决定嘉奖和鼓励为人类做出巨大贡献的科学家时,一定是怀着对人类极大的仁慈之心吧;难道他真会允许一种渺小的个人怨恨来扭曲他的理想主义计划吗?
When a billionaire reaches the end of his life and decides to reward and encourage scientists who have made significant contributions to humanity, he must be filled with immense benevolence. Would he really allow a petty personal grudge to distort his idealistic plan?

不过,虽然诺贝尔没有设立数学奖,但还是有不少数学家得到过诺贝尔奖。
However, even though there isn't a Nobel Prize for mathematics, quite a few mathematicians have still received the Nobel Prize

1979年,美国数学家阿兰·柯马克因为创立了计算机X射线断层成像的数学理论,从而获得了诺贝尔医学奖。
In 1979, American mathematician Alan Cormack was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for establishing the mathematical theory behind computerized X-ray tomography

1985年,美国数学家赫伯特·豪普曼因为与物理学家卡勒合作发明X射线直接测定晶体结构的数学方法,从而获得了诺贝尔物理学奖。
In 1985, American mathematician Herbert Hauptman, in collaboration with physicist Jerome Karle, invented a mathematical method for the direct determination of crystal structures using X-rays, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics

1994 年,约翰·纳什、泽尔滕和豪尔绍尼因“在非合作博弈均衡理论中开拓性的贡献”而分享了诺贝尔经济学奖。不过纳什本人却不太满意——因为他更想获得数学届的最高荣誉菲尔兹奖。
In 1994, John Nash, Zelten, and Harsanyi shared the Nobel Prize in Economics for their "pioneering contributions in the theory of non-cooperative game equilibrium." However, Nash himself was not entirely satisfied, as he aspired to win the Fields Medal, the highest honor in the field of mathematics

数学是很抽象的学科,也许很难立刻得到应用,可它是许多学科的基础,也是有力工具,甚至能在无心插柳中解决现实问题。虽然诺贝尔没有设置数学奖,但科学的奖堂永远不会将真正有贡献的人排除在外。
Mathematics is a highly abstract discipline, and it may be difficult to find immediate applications for it. However, it serves as the foundation for many subjects and is a powerful tool that can even inadvertently solve real-world problems. Although there is no Nobel Prize for mathematics, the halls of scientific recognition will never exclude those who have truly contributed

一些关于诺奖的小八卦Some Gossip About the Nobel Prize

1. 诺贝尔大概有355项专利,最著名的是他在1867年发明的炸药,他原本打算称它为“诺贝尔安全炸药”。
Nobel held approximately 355 patents, with his most renowned being the invention of dynamite in 1867, which he initially intended to name "Nobel's Safe Explosive".

2.1888年,诺贝尔的弟弟勒德维格去世,一家法国报纸误以为阿尔弗雷德•诺贝尔本人也去世了,并发表了文章《死亡商人已经死了》:“阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔昨天去世,他是通过比以前更快地杀死更多的人而变得富有的。”据说诺贝尔就是因此开始思考如何改善他的公众形象,并决定设置诺贝尔奖的。
In 1888, Alfred Nobel's brother Ludvig passed away. A French newspaper mistakenly reported that Alfred Nobel himself had also died, publishing an article titled "The Merchant of Death is Dead," which stated, "Alfred Nobel died yesterday, having amassed his wealth by finding quicker ways to kill more people." It is said that this incident prompted Nobel to start contemplating how to improve his public image, leading to his decision to establish the Nobel Prize.

3.诺贝尔为了创立诺贝尔奖,留下了3100万瑞典克朗。
3. Nobel left 31 million Swedish Krona to establish the Nobel Prize.

4.除了设立挑选诺贝尔奖得主的小组外,还有一个单独的小组——诺贝尔基金会来管理诺贝尔奖的资金。到目前为止,除了每年给获奖者的遗赠资金外,诺贝尔基金会已将诺贝尔的资产增加到大约5亿美元——考虑到通货膨胀因素,他们可以说运营得不太理想,然而这是因为他们的投资非常保守,以确保能够不断发出奖金。
4. In addition to the committee responsible for selecting Nobel Prize winners, there is a separate group - the Nobel Foundation, which manages the funds of the Nobel Prize. So far, aside from the annual bequests to the winners, the Nobel Foundation has increased Nobel's assets to about 500 million dollars. Considering the factor of inflation, one could say their operation has not been very successful. However, this is because their investments are extremely conservative, ensuring the continuous disbursement of prizes.

5.每一位诺贝尔奖得主都会获得一枚金质奖牌、一份证书,以及每年都金额有所不同的奖金。一个奖项最多可以由三个人共同分享。当这种情况发生时,将由颁奖机构决定如何在获奖者之间分配奖金。大多数获奖者最终会将他们的奖金捐赠给各种事业和慈善机构。得奖者须于得奖后六个月内发表公开演讲。诺贝尔文学奖得主、美国音乐人鲍勃·迪伦差点因为没有及时进行公开演讲,而没能拿到奖金。
5. Every Nobel Prize laureate receives a gold medal, a certificate, and a cash prize that varies each year. A single award can be shared by up to three people. When this happens, the awarding institution decides how to distribute the prize money among the winners. Most laureates eventually donate their prize money to various causes and charitable organizations. Laureates must deliver a public lecture within six months of receiving the award. Bob Dylan, an American musician and Nobel laureate in Literature, almost missed out on his prize money because he did not give his public lecture in time.

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