I have a bone to pick with Dr. Jorge Cham. In a recent Piled Higher and Deeper comic [link], the character Prof. Smith is described as “recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Prize of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands”, among other things. This is total and utter nonsense. Of course I understand that the Ph.D. comic is a work of fiction, but it does at least suggest a real-life and contemporary setting – witness references to Stanford University and current events in the real world.
So just to educate the general populace that will not read this anyway...
Alexander von Humboldt (* Berlin 1769 – † Berlin 1859) was an explorer from [drum roll] Berlin, which was in Prussia. In other words, in Germany. In other words, not in the Netherlands. He did probably set foot on Dutch soil at some point during his travels, but the main foci of his work were Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Latin America. He did not write anything major about the Netherlands which makes a Dutch prize being named after him extremely unlikely in the first place.
More ridiculously... the Federal Republic of the Netherlands? My passport clearly says “Kingdom of the Netherlands” in twelve languages. Not Republic. Not Federal. We were a republic once, or rather, twice, in our history. From 1581 to 1795 we were the Republic of the (Seven) United Netherlands/Provinces, and then from 1795 to 1806 we were the Batavian Republic. (Those were the days.) Sure enough the United Provinces (not the Batavian Republic) were a federal republic but we were never called such.
Alexander von Humboldt’s first publication dates from 1790, so five years before the Netherlands ceased to be a federal republic. His major claim to fame, however, the five-year expotition to Latin America (1799 to 1804) came when the Netherlands were no longer federal and well on their way to becoming a Kingdom with a rabbit king.
In conclusion, a badly-named Alexander von Humboldt Prize of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility, but the probability of a certain comic strip (anti-)hero graduating is doubtlessly infinitely greater.
Rant over.
(Only one more month before I can tell first-years that Wikipedia is evil!)
So just to educate the general populace that will not read this anyway...
Alexander von Humboldt (* Berlin 1769 – † Berlin 1859) was an explorer from [drum roll] Berlin, which was in Prussia. In other words, in Germany. In other words, not in the Netherlands. He did probably set foot on Dutch soil at some point during his travels, but the main foci of his work were Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Latin America. He did not write anything major about the Netherlands which makes a Dutch prize being named after him extremely unlikely in the first place.
More ridiculously... the Federal Republic of the Netherlands? My passport clearly says “Kingdom of the Netherlands” in twelve languages. Not Republic. Not Federal. We were a republic once, or rather, twice, in our history. From 1581 to 1795 we were the Republic of the (Seven) United Netherlands/Provinces, and then from 1795 to 1806 we were the Batavian Republic. (Those were the days.) Sure enough the United Provinces (not the Batavian Republic) were a federal republic but we were never called such.
Alexander von Humboldt’s first publication dates from 1790, so five years before the Netherlands ceased to be a federal republic. His major claim to fame, however, the five-year expotition to Latin America (1799 to 1804) came when the Netherlands were no longer federal and well on their way to becoming a Kingdom with a rabbit king.
In conclusion, a badly-named Alexander von Humboldt Prize of the Federal Republic of the Netherlands is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility, but the probability of a certain comic strip (anti-)hero graduating is doubtlessly infinitely greater.
Rant over.
(Only one more month before I can tell first-years that Wikipedia is evil!)
1 comment:
I feel so...enlightened. Why is wikipedia evil?
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