(Photo credit to nobelprize.org)

It’s a universal human sentiment- nobody wants to be woken up from a good night’s sleep. However most people would be quick to gain consciousness if it meant learning they had just been awarded the Nobel Prize for their deeply influential economics theory. The same could not be said for Paul Milgrom, who had to be woken up by his neighbor and fellow prize winner Robert Wilson and Wilson’s wife Mary to learn of their accomplishments. And to top it all off, the whole brilliantly human and heart-warming exchange was caught on video via the doorbell camera.

Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, both professors at Stanford University, were awarded the Nobel Prize for their additional assertions to auction theory. This theory, which through its complexity of thought, is designed to make auctioning a simpler task. “This year’s Laureates, Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, have studied how auctions work. They have also used their insights to design new auction formats for goods and services that are difficult to sell in a conventional way, such as radio frequencies,” The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement. “Their discoveries have benefited sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.”

For all this high praise however, the committee that calls the recipients to tell them of their win before announcing it to the world was unable to reach the fast-asleep Milgrom. After the calls to Milgrom were left unanswered, Wilson and his wife Mary decided to venture over to the professor’s house in an attempt to deliver the life-changing news that way. “Paul, it’s Wilson!” he explained to the shut door after ringing the doorbell vigorously. And then, in a rather calm and refined manner that is appropriate of a man stating a rather self-explanatory fact, he adds “You’ve won the Nobel Prize. And so they’re trying to reach you, but they cannot. They don’t seem to have a number for you.” After a brief few seconds of silence to digest the surprising information, a still-befuddled (and understandably sleepy) Milgrom responds with “Yeah, I have? Wow!” 

Although the exchange only lasted about two minutes, the video quickly circulated the web and became an overnight viral sensation. The sheer pureness and simplicity of the footage was a refreshing break from a year that has been dominated by gloomy or downright depressing headlines. Congratulations to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for their highly memorable win and for giving the world a smile when it needed it most.