In early October 2013, the Nobel Prize committee was preparing to announce the winner of its award in physics. The leading candidate — as pretty much everyone knew — was an 84-year-old Scottish scientist named Peter Higgs, who was not feeling nearly as joyful as you might think. Yes, he wanted to win the award, yes, he wanted to be recognized for his pioneering insights into how subatomic particles build our universe. He just wanted to be recognized for it quietly.
