Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

 The world has dedicated this week to geniuses; six special ones in particular. Since Monday, one lucky intellectual has been awarded the Nobel Prize every day for physics (Albert Fert & Peter Grünberg), chemistry (Gerhard Ertl), medicine (Mario R. Capecchi, Sir Martin J. Evans & Oliver Smithies) and literature (Doris Lessing). Two other brainiacs are still set to receive their prize for peace and economics. “But what exactly have they done to deserve this?” we hear you say. Well, here is a little insight in to one of the most prestigious rewards the world has to offer.

Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to individuals who have excelled and are regarded as excellent leaders with outstanding achievements in their subject areas. It was founded by Alfred Nobel, who is the inventor of dynamite. Although he left his fortune to fund the prizes for the six areas, people still wonder today why Mathematics is not included in this celebration of intelligence.

Science, literature and economics; these may not have been the most exciting subjects for everyone at school, especially if you were one of those students who had trouble keeping your eyes open while chemical reactions were being explained. But, they can be fun. After all, they also throw up interesting questions such as ‘Can you freeze a flame?’ or ‘What determines foreign exchange rates?’. So don’t forget to stop by these categories on Yahoo! Answers for a spell of knowledge giving and taking and the chance to increase your intelligence.

With so many questions being asked and answered every day, we’d like to think that we too have an Einstein or an Isaac Newton in our midst. Unfortunately, we can’t give you any Nobel prizes for bringing your experience to the site, but we can guarantee that you’d be doing a noble deed.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team