A 50-cent soda

When I was in highschool, my maths teacher used to give us extra credit problems -- hard problems, problems we hadn't gone over in class -- and he would give a Coke to the person who solved the problem first (never mind that he favored the boys in the class; that's another issue altogether). He was fond of saying that whenever you wanted something to happen, you got a lot of smart guys (notice the gender) in a room and offered them a million dollars for finding a solution, and that's how a lot of the best inventions happened. I don't know if he was right, but lunch hour was right after math class and I would see my fellow classmates furtively working on the problem in corners, trying to get the answer first so they could get that fifty cent soda. It's amazing what people will do. I won't even tell you about the time he offered a six-pack of Coke for a college-level problem (okay, I'll tell you -- I solved it but he wouldn't believe me, so I got a male classmate to present it and we split the winnings).

I guess Mr. Baumann must now be in charge of the world, because I saw this headline yesterday and it piqued my interest: Scientists to Vie for $25M Climate Prize. I'm glad that we are finally facing what has been pretty obvious for a while now; the earth is getting warmer, and we are part of the problem. I'm glad, too, because I think Mr. Baumann was right. If a group of 16-year-olds would work through lunch for a 50-cent soda, what would smart guys (and gals) do for $25 million? A lot, I hope. Because we need it.