Two researchers at the University of Warwick had a look the life spans of 528 Nobel Prize winners and mere nominees in physics and chemistry, and concluded that the winners outlived the losers by 1-2 years.

The authors postulate that winning the elusive prize enhances one’s socio-economic status (SES), which lowers psychological stress levels and in turn reduces coronary heart disease. The authors go on to say that there are many examples in society wherein higher status correlates with lower mortality rates. The attached graphic shows Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Prize winner in literature for 2006, having his socio-economic status improved. 

Our comment: We’re not entirely convinced - another explanation for longevity and overachievement might simply be that those with better immune and cardiothoracic systems outthink and outlive the rest of us.      

Mortality and Immortality - M.D. Rablen, A.J. Oswald, January 2007

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