Nowhere is this more true than in the awarding of prizes. Because prizes carry the approval of an institution, we expect them t

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问题 Nowhere is this more true than in the awarding of prizes.  Because prizes carry the approval of an institution, we expect them to be somehow more authoritative than ordinary reviews. But even the winners of the most prestigious awards are chosen by individuals, each with his or her own particular tastes, and the high stakes involved can make those choices even more capricious. Recently, I was explaining to a mathematician friend how I had screened the scores of nonfiction books that were candidates for the short list of a national literary prize I participate in judging. "If by Page 100 the author hasn’t managed to get me interested in the topic, I eliminate it," I said.  "Surely there are objective criteria?" he replied, sounding a bit offended.  Well, not really; a tedious volume full of useful information may have its merits, but not enough to make me champion it as one of the five best books of the year. And determining whether a work is boring or enthralling can be only a subjective decision.

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答案在奖项颁发这个问题上,这一点表现得最为透彻。由于奖项代表某个机构的认可,我们期望它们比一般的评论更具有权威性。但即便是最具权威性的奖项,其获得者也是由一个个评委选出的,每个评委都有各自的鉴赏标准,而且奖项涉及的利害关系越大,选择就越不可信。最近我参与评选一个非小说类作品的国家级文学奖,我向一个数学家朋友解释我是怎样打分的:“如果读到第100页作者还没能让我对他的主题感兴趣,我就将其排除在外。”“客观的标准肯定是有的,不是吗?”他回答道,听起来有点不满。依我看,客观标准不大会有。一部乏味的但充满有用信息的作品也许有它的价值,但不足以让我选它为本年度最佳五部作品之一。决定一本书到底是枯燥乏味还是充满吸引力只能是一种主观判断。

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