The Volokh Conspiracy has a spirited defence going of Swiss creativity, for the most part successful, marred only by its dependence on dubious sources, namely the Swiss.
There seems to be a widely parroted perception that the Swiss have the most Nobel Prize winners on a per capita basis. But divide absolute totals for nationalities with CIA population estimates and you get 0.30 Swiss Nobel prize winners per 100,000 Swiss, whereas the Swedish manage 0.34 per 100,000 Swedes.
A breakdown of the categories shows the Swiss are fatally weak in Nobels for literature, trailing Sweden by 5. Perhaps writing in Swedish sometimes has its advantages.
(A note on my methodology: Data for nationalities seems to be up to date for 2002; neither the Swedes nor the Swiss won anything in 2003. And if it’s on the internet, it must be true, right?)
Speaking of “dubious sources”, aren’t you Swedish?
Aleks
No, Belgian. I was even born in Switzerland, and could become Swiss if I really really wanted to.
Stefan:
Why do you choose to pick on the Swiss in your latest fit of Swede-mania? Is there some reason why Sweden and Switzerland would even lend themselves to comparison for Nobel purposes? And what about the pro-Nordic bias of Nobel committees? Have you ever had the misfortune of reading any Laxness or Lagerqvist? Not exactly page turners.
Britain impresses, with double the number of French awards and in some categories more than France and Germany combined. But should our English and Welsh readers pause before patting themselves on the back? I have no stats but a sneaky suspicion that a disproportionate number of those UK awards have gone to Scots.
Ben,
What do you have against Per Laqerquist? He’s really good. I’m sure you’ve never even read him, although you would never admit to that you pseudo-intelectual. Or you did but didn’t get it, which is even more sad. What’s your own favourite read? Batman? Or Barbara Bush’s best muffin recipies?
For God’s sake, how many times do you have to invade and crush their nude, wode-painted army into absolute submission before they accept we get credit for their Nobels? If it wasn’t for us, the closest they would have got to winning a nobel prize would have been one for contributions to peace by having an absolutely hopeless military. Oh, no, they wouldn’t even have got that one without us providing the demonstration.
joachim:
I understand people from small, homogeneous countries feel touchy about the quaint “arts” produced at home, but Lagerquist is a bit provincial and draggy for my tastes. Why don’t you try a Nobelist from an even smaller country, albeit one with a more interesting culture, like Jose Saramago.
But… Sweden or Swedishness play little or no part in his writing, most of his most known works aren’t even set in Sweden. He was a modernist when modernism was brand new, turn of the century, before it penetrated Sweden. Hardly provincial in outlook.
Hey Joaquim: Barbara makes a damn good muffin. The blueberries in that steaming bun…better than sex with reindeer, although I know such a thought is sacreliege to your people.
Although I will be roundly harassed, I’ll admit that I made a mistake. The provincial and dull Swedish Nobelist I was thinking of was Lagerlof, rather than Lagerquist. In penance, I will go out and read some Lagerquist.
Ben,
I’m glad that you can admit to your own ignorance in this field. I would recommend “The Dwarf” by Lagerquist as a good start in your attempt to educate yourself a bit. You also stand corrected on your second statement. Portugal is, and always has been, a bigger country than Sweden: 10.5 against 8.9 mio. So pick up a demographic atlas while you are at it. As to the interesting aspects of Portuguese culture, well you have more personal experinece in that than I do…
Jame,
I don’tknow about you but I would pick a reindeer any day over Barbara Bush.
Joachim:
Thanks for the literary tip. Have fun with your reindeer.
I get laid regularly these days so I’ll stick to the bakery. But had I been as desperate as in our Bologna days, no doubt I’d be grabbing the antlers.