Obit watch: December 22, 2023.

For the historical record: NYT obit for Bob Pardo (archived). Previously.

Robert M. Solow, who won a Nobel in economic science in 1987 for his theory that advances in technology, rather than increases in capital and labor, have been the primary drivers of economic growth in the United States, died on Thursday at his home in Lexington, Mass. He was 99.

No disrespect to Dr. Solow, but: he did not win a Nobel in economic sciences. The prize he won is The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. It is not one of the five prizes established by Alfred Nobel: it was established in 1968 and first awarded in 1969. It is not a Nobel prize, and again with all due respect to Dr. Solow and his accomplishments, it should not be referred to as a Nobel prize.

That the prize is not an original Nobel Prize has been a subject of controversy, with four of Nobel’s relatives having formally distanced themselves from the Prize in Economic Sciences.

I’m sorry, but this is one of my many pet peeves. You would not believe how much it costs to keep my pet peeves in Purina Peeve Chow.

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