Oddbean new post about login | logout I love that Alfred Nobel—the dude who invented dynamite and who can arguably be link to more deaths via war that any other human in existence—then decided he’d use his money to make a ‘peace prize’. It’s funny stuff.
Lol typical
The whole annual awards are a perpetual PR campaign to wash his name clean and have his legacy be associated with something other than blowing up people.
lol I’m pretty sure you can use dynamite for more than blowing up people. It’s kinda useful, don’t you think? His legacy is kinda double in that sense. No one would give a fuck about Nobel if it was not for the price. Just like no one is giving a fuck about the inventor of gun powder or the creator of riffles. It’s more likely that no one would remember Nobel if the prize was not introduced. Hence, no need for good PR because no one would give a fuck in the end. If anything, the price reminds a few people of how retarded the price actually is. But yeah, in the internet era everything is a conspiracy forged by the lizard people high above us plebs.
But @jack isn’t everyone’s life somewhat similar to that of the inventor of dynamite? Maybe not everyone kills people, but we all end up destroying something, and yet we still seek trophies because we can’t bear to see ourselves as we truly are.
Also funny that Obama is the only Nobel peace prize winner to bomb another Nobel peace prize winner (Red Cross)
NPC: “But Obama won the peace prize!” Me: “You mean the guy who chose to extrajudicial murder an American child via drone? That Obama?”
Yes. Also, the Swedish government politicizes everything it touches and the Nobel prize is just an extension of the Swedish government at this point. The Nobel committee have given many deserved prizes in the past but we can always expect a political play under the surface.
Spoiler: Some humans will never stop violating others until they are forced to. Sitting around and waiting for the worst humans to build and control weaponry is retarded. Explosives have mostly ended kenetic wars compared to what they used to be. I'd rather blow up an enemy than keep sending in tens of thousands of my own people to just get killed. Pacifists tend to live in a fantasy world paid for by those living in the real one. There are simply times when violence is the only way to settle disputes. It may seem ironic to a simple mind, but advanced weaponry is the best way for one to remain at peace. Being easier to abuse doesn't lead to less violence in a world where evil exists. War should be as horrific and unimaginable as possible if we really want to avoid it. I love peace but I also understand that it sometimes comes at the expense of war. Also, the Peace prize was one of five prizes. It wasn't the only thing he valued. Some things conveniently or ignorantly left out here: People were using black powder and nitroglycerine (used for vasodilation now) explosives before dynamite. His invention reduced the chance of accidental detonation and made workers handling it a lot safer. His work on explosives was inspired by construction, not war. Yes, his inventions were later sold for military use, and he indeed did not want to be known mainly for that. But that is in no way a negative point against his character. He did amazing work in his time that is worth celebrating.
Continue this thought, Fritz Haber won a Nobel prize for the process that allowed mass production of fertiliser, but then went on to develop the gas used in the Nazi gas chambers! Humans are complicated.
But Vitalik tho...
Yes, he realized that and that's why he added the peace category to the Nobel Prize. So that's a nothing burger. The kicker is, look who has gotten it over the years. Getting the peace prize is almost akin saying this guy or lass got away with murder, and we are not talking about the odd couple here. There are a exceptions of course, unless that is the criteria... Hmmm...
Nobel developed a more stable form of nitroglycerin, which he called dynamite. His brother was killed in an accidental explosion in the family's arms factory. In 1876, Nobel met Bertha von Suttner, an Austrian pacifist and writer, who would become a significant influence on his later life and work. Von Suttner was a prominent advocate for disarmament and international cooperation, and her writings and activism inspired Nobel to reevaluate his own role in promoting violence and destruction through his invention of dynamite. Not making apologies, but people can change. I'm open to people trying to rectify mistakes. #nostr
raised this point before in post 1. 3d printer inventor go to jail ? someone printed a gun 2. foss code dev go to jail ? someone used code to sell drugs 3. noble foundation pay for repar all kill by dynamite ? 4. node mint lnd coder go to jail? some criminal send sats 5. list can go on