Talk:John Scales Avery

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[edit] Nobel Peace Prize

"Avery shared in the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the 1990s in organizing the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs." — this seems hyperbolic. The prize was split between Rotblat as an individual and Pugwash as an organization, i.e. each got 50% of the money. Avery is not mentioned. Over 3500 people have attended Pugwash conferences since 1957 -- this doesn't entitle them to be described as "sharing in the Nobel Peace Prize."

Also, describing him as an "organizer" of the organization is a stretch -- his participation only began in 1990, and he's the Secretary of the Danish branch.

Anyhow, I've removed the assertion. The association with Pugwash seems more appropriate for a separate section at the end. Cheers, Eleuther 05:59, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Possibly we don't know the full story? This is verbatim from his faculty home page:

Contact Person for Denmark, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, 1990-, shared in Nobel Peace Prize, 1995

Thus, according to Avery, he shared in the Nobel Peace Prize (1995). Am I missing something? --Sadi Carnot 12:33, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I saw that, and if he's really making that claim, it would be kind of outrageous, and not something we should repeat! I read it charitably, however, to be an attempt to mention the fact that the organization shared in the prize, not a claim that he shared in it, and it just came out a bit wrong when he typed it. Certainly he doesn't repeat the claim in his biography, which you also cited. I also read the text of the award and the accompanying speech on the Nobel site, and none of them mention him, which is not surprising because the work for which Rotblat and Pugwash received the award mainly had to do with nuclear disarmament during the cold war, before Avery even joined. Eleuther 16:37, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes, thank you; I have amended accordingly. --Sadi Carnot 16:46, 25 November 2006 (UTC)