Of Nobel Prize and World Cup

Can awards and prizes be gamed? Of course they can. Consider the Nobel prize. Obama was awarded the Peace prize no less, in 2009 after his victory on the back of a promise to pull troops from Iraq. He went on to INCREASE the number of troops, much to the chagrin of everyone (and amusement of some). Some in Nobel committee eventually voiced their regret, but what’s done is done.

The Oscars? Let’s not even get started on that one.

Consider as well the many universities rankings out there. For many years, the Times World University Ranking was de-facto gold standard for universities to aspire for. Never mind the bias towards things like international students, citations in ‘international’ journals, staff salaries - areas which non-British, non-White universities are weak in. But then, it’s the Times, a British daily - so do we expect no bias here?

So universities now turn to the other ranking - QS - as a solution to a higher ranking. Never mind again that QS is a commercial entity (like Times) whose main business is in organizing education exhibitions. Is it a co-incidence then that many of those highly rated by QS are also regular supporters of QS’ main business? Certain things are measurable, but how do you measure things like reputation and alumni success? Transparent? Hardly.

Consider again the Skytrax 5 Star rating - the standard by which airlines (and their CEOs) are measured. At one point, most if not all of those who were 5-Star rated are from English-speaking countries, until the Chinese airlines, with their new found financial muscles, threatened to boycott Skytrax. The Skytrax bosses, with tails between their legs, quickly amended the criteria. When once language proficiency meant ENGLISH, now you can score a perfect 5 if your crew speaks flawless Mandarin. Of course, who dare accuse Skytrax of gaming the system, unless you want your airline to join the club of African airlines with 1-Star rating.

However, none of this diminishes the most obvious purpose of awards and prizes - to stir competition and by so doing ensure continuous improvement within the industry.

Without Oscars, cinemas would be dominated by no-brainer horror flicks and shoot-em-up designed to rake in ticket sales. Without the World Cup (and the many antics and rules designed for entertainment rather than fair play or sporting prowess), football would still be backyard games (like chess, which some might argue require more skills and strategic thinking).

And had that Nobel peace prize gotten the then President to reconsider his war efforts, thousands of people who have been spared their early death - on both sides, the aggressors and the Iraqis.

Of course, on the flipside, without these university rankings, universities might be boasting about their ability to groom our youths into outspoken, courageous and thinking adults - rather than marketability or how many foreign classmates they may have.

All said and considered, awards and prizes are important - in challenging status quo and in promoting competition and excellence. Without these, men would not have landed on the moon, invented the light bulb or learned about Schindler and his list.

WILLIAM NG