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John Baez (Oct 08 2020 at 23:54):I tried to explain what Penrose did to win the Nobel:
David Michael Roberts (Oct 09 2020 at 02:51):I had some discussion with someone, and it was also pointed out at Peter Woit's blog, that in all likelihood, Hawking wouldn't have gotten the prize since the singularity theorem for black holes is really just Penrose's. The version of the theorem that deals with an initial singularity ("inevitability of the big bang", as it were) really covers a different physical phenomenon. Someone else I was talking to who worked with Penrose at Oxford reckons Hawking had "made enemies" and so there was opposition to him getting such an award—I don't really know about that, but it highlights how ... human the whole process is.
John Baez (Oct 09 2020 at 04:01):Hmm, it's true Hawking's singularity theorem didn't apply to black holes. He was one of the best physicists whose work was done after 1960, but oh well - there's more to life than Nobel prizes, and he got plenty of respect!
Dan Doel (Oct 09 2020 at 04:10):He was on Star Trek.
Dan Doel (Oct 09 2020 at 04:10):Way better than a Nobel Prize.