Amidst all the excitement of having a political scientist win the Nobel Prize in economics, it has gone virtually unnoticed that the Annals of Improbable Research has once again snubbed political scientists for the IG Nobels. One could of course argue, with Tom Coburn, that all political science research is laughable and that it would be futile to make distinctions along this dimension. Yet, some research is surely sillier than others and there is no reason why this shouldn’t be recognized.
There is no reason why political science cannot be competitive with the sciences. Consider the IG Nobel committee’s Marxist (Groucho) fascination with garments, as illustrated by its recent award to the inventor of a “brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks.”But where is the recognition for our very own Lee Sigelman, who used wigs in an experiment to show that voters are not biased against balding men; a result that offers a slimmer of hope to those of us with receding hairlines.
It is time to take action. Our professional organization, the American Political Science Association, has done nothing to advance this cause. Once again, the revolution will have to be blogged. Henry has already pointed to James Fowler’s article on the Colbert effect but we need more to show that we are serious enough to be mocked. Do send us your suggestions and don’t be shy to nominate candidates for next year’s nobel.