The IG Nobel Prize: Research That Makes You Laugh, Then Think
Marc Abrahams
The Ig Nobel Prize is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research, its stated aim being to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name of the award is a pun on the Nobel Prize, which it parodies, and on the word ignoble. Organised by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), the Ig Nobel Prizes are presented by Nobel laureates in a ceremony at the Sanders Theater, Harvard University, and are followed by the winners’ public lectures at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Improbable Research editorial board of more than 50 distinguished scientists includes many Nobel Laureates, several Ig Nobel Prize winners, IQ record holder Marilyn Vos Savant, and a convicted felon. In this College Tour Special, Marc will hold a short talk about the world renowned Ig Nobel prizes, followed by a moderated Q&A session.
During the expert session, Marc Abrahams engages the audience through methods like a Q&A session.
Learn about various unusual and thought-provoking scientific achievements that have been honored by the Ig Nobel Prizes.
Understand the role and impact of humor in scientific research and public engagement through the lens of the Ig Nobel Prizes.
Gain insights into how the scientific community and the public perceive and celebrate unconventional scientific contributions.
Marc will delve into the fascinating world of the Ig Nobel Prizes, a satiric award celebrating unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. Established in 1991, the Ig Nobel Prizes aim to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name cleverly puns on the prestigious Nobel Prize and the word ignoble, highlighting the humorous and thought-provoking nature of the awards.
Organized by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), the Ig Nobel Prizes are presented by Nobel laureates in a whimsical ceremony at Harvard University's Sanders Theater. Following the ceremony, winners give public lectures at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Improbable Research editorial board, comprising over 50 distinguished scientists including Nobel Laureates, past Ig Nobel winners, IQ record holder Marilyn Vos Savant, and even a convicted felon, plays a pivotal role in the awards.
Marc's session will begin with a short talk on the history and significance of the Ig Nobel Prizes, exploring their unique blend of humor and scientific inquiry. He will share anecdotes and highlight some of the most memorable and thought-provoking prize-winning research.
The talk will be followed by a moderated Q&A session, offering attendees the opportunity to engage directly with Marc and delve deeper into the curious and entertaining world of the Ig Nobel Prizes.
It is interactive, and the block above says exactly how for this session. Nobody has to speak up who does not want to: the chat and the polls carry most of it, and the questions can come in anonymously.
The Ig Nobel Prize is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research, its stated aim being to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name of the award is a pun on the Nobel Prize, which it parodies, and on... It is built for a general working audience: no prior knowledge is assumed, and people who already know the subject get the research and the practical side rather than an introduction.
It runs 45 min / 15 min: the talk, then live questions. All you do is pick a date. We brief Marc, produce the session, host and moderate it, run the Q&A, and send you the report within an hour of the end.
A team, a department, an employee network or every single employee at once, with no cap and no per-seat price. It runs inside your own Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, or on a branded page we build. No integration, no login, no company device or e-mail.
The session is delivered in English. You can add high accuracy live subtitles in 8, 16 or 24 languages, so everyone follows in their own. That is a paid option, priced by the number of languages you need.
No, and that is by design. There is nothing to install, nothing to integrate and no connection to your systems, so there is nothing for IT to validate: we join your own Teams, Zoom or Meet as a guest speaker, or we host a page and your people open a link. No software, no accounts, and no data of yours that we can reach. It is why hundreds of companies, among them some of the largest technology and financial firms in the world, were able to start within a day.
We never receive or hold personal data about your employees. Because the session runs in your own environment, attendance and identity stay with you, and what we report back is aggregated: numbers, ratings and survey answers, not people. That is also why IT approval usually takes minutes rather than weeks.
You keep the recording and can share it internally. You also get attendance over time, participant ratings for the content and the speaker, the survey answers, and the topics your people asked for next.
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