Oscars and Nobels are Trinkets Compared to the Breakthrough Awards

 

The Breakthrough Trophy

Scientists are the movie stars of the Breakthrough Awards. Started in 2012, these awards are given to researchers and developers in Life Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics. The recipients of which should be celebrated as national heroes.

The Breakthrough Awards carry a $3 million prize and are given for outstanding achievement and discovery that significantly advances human knowledge and improves life.

The Award winners are chosen by committees composed of previous winners, eliminating politics and favoritism. This year's Awards paid out $18 million to recipients at a ceremony whose guest list included tech titans to A-list movie stars. Yes, movie stars! This shows that Hollywood sees the writing on the wall and their fear of the changes to production, distribution, and exhibition that AI presents.

Robert Downey Jr.

This year, the Life Sciences Award was given to seven individuals for:

• developing the first FDA-approved gene therapy for an inherited disease
• discovering how the body switches from fetal to adult hemoglobin, including gene editing
• for the identification of a nutation that causes Alzheimer's and dementia

In Physics, the Awards went to scientists: 

•  developing the ultra-precise measurement of magnetism within our universe
•  for work on nuclear force and string theory

In Mathematics:

•  for breakthroughs in nonlinear evolution equations

Ben Affleck

The Awards were attended by Sam Altman, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Ann Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Ron Howard, Robert Downey Jr., Naomi Watts, Zoe Saldana, Edward Norton, and Gal Gadot, to name a few.

My hope is that the Breakthrough Awards do not become and Oscars like event. What these Awards represent is the best that we have to offer in the evolution of mankind.