The Important of Inquiry
I despised the idea of research being reduced to finding marketable solutions during my undergraduate degree.
It felt disingenuous and superficial.
Why couldn't I simply pursue knowledge and research to satiate my curiosity, without the pressure to turn complex problems into neatly packaged final deliverables?
And then, I came across the Ig Nobel awards. Prizes that celebrate research which is seemingly trivial or improbable, with the aim of "honoring achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think."
This approach cleverly flips the notion of research as a means to a predetermined end, instead emphasizing the inherent value of inquiry itself. Sometimes, the goal is simply to uncover the answers, rather than always building solutions.
I found the Ig Nobel awards to be a delightful antidote to conclusion-driven research, and was inspired to illustrate some of the most entertaining ones I've come across. Going through them was an absolute riot, and I hope they bring you the same joy!︎
2019 Ig Nobel Physics Prize
Patricia Yang, Alexander Lee, Miles Chan, Alynn Martin, Ashley Edwards, Scott Carver
and David Hu
Read the paper here
Physics Prize
For studying how, and why wombats make cube-shaped poo
Patricia Yang, Alexander Lee, Miles Chan, Alynn Martin, Ashley Edwards, Scott Carver and David Hu
Read the paper here
2016 Ig Nobel
Peace Prize
On the Reception & Detection of Psuedo-profound Bullshit
Gordon Pennycook, James Allan Cheyne, Nathaniel Barr, Derek J. Koehler†, Jonathan Fugelsang
Discern a psuedo-intellectual next time you’re at a party.
2014 Ig Nobel Neuroscience Prize for
Jiangang Liu, Jun Li, Lu Feng, Ling Li, Jie Tian, and Kang Lee
Learn more about face pareidolia!
Neuroscience Prize for
Trying to understand what happens in the brains of people who see the face of Jesus in a piece of toast
Jiangang Liu, Jun Li, Lu Feng, Ling Li, Jie Tian, and Kang LeeLearn more about face pareidolia!
2011 Ig Nobel Literature Prize for
John Perry
“To be a high achiever, always work on something important, using it as a way to avoid doing something that's even more important.”
Literature Prize for
For the theory of Structured Procrastination
John Perry“To be a high achiever, always work on something important, using it as a way to avoid doing something that's even more important.”