Abstract:
The available data on the ages at award of the Nobel prize in case of (i) physics and (ii) medicine or physiology are analyzed to show the presence of three distinct groups, whose mean ages correspond to 37 years 48+1 years and 61+2 years Analysis of the ages at the time of the discovery in case of physics yields a similar tri-modal distribution, but at somewhat lower ages, the peaks being at 32.42 and 52 years, showing a mean lag of 17 years for international recognition of the scientist. It is concluded that the age for creativity extends from 20 to 60 years, with the highest productivity being mostly in the range of 26 to 46 years, which agrees with the results of an earlier analysis with a sample of a dozen recognized Pakistani scientists. Further studies for other fields of activity are in hand.
Page(s):
27-36
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Proceedings of Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Volume: 10, Issue: 1, Year: 1973