been noticing a lot of chirping, and frankly, it’s time we address the elephant in the room. Yes, I’m talking about the image i have noticed circulating.

September 11, 2024 Travis McCracken

I've been noticing a lot of trash-talking and chirping lately, and frankly, it’s time we address the elephant in the room. Yes, I’m talking about the image i have noticed circulating. Its an ongoing debate apparently, one that some are attempting to become, dare i say masters of hmmm? Of course I am talking about the image showing the two juxtaposed ‘families’, the Kardashian vs. Nobel laureate debate—because, apparently It’s hard to ignore the chatter, and let’s face it, it’s gotten loud enough that even the quiet halls of academia have started to echo with murmurs of, “Did reality TV win?”

Now, I get it—lip kits and selfies don’t exactly lend themselves to scientific breakthroughs, but let’s be honest: in 2024, wealth seems to speak louder than wisdom. Not to call anyone in our society un-wise.

If we were to line up the Kardashians and history’s greatest minds for a showdown—lets not in intellectual prowess, but in the battle of accounts—the results are about as lopsided as you’d expect. The Kardashians, with their $2.75 billion empire, seem to weigh down the scales as effortlessly as Kim’s Instagram posts rake in likes. Meanwhile, Einstein, Curie, and their crew of Nobel-toting geniuses manage to scrounge up a respectable $73 million between them. Not exactly pocket change, but in today’s billionaire playground, it’s about as noticeable as a grain of sand in the Sahara.

But here’s where it gets amusing. While Einstein’s relativity might have shaped our universe, the Kardashians are shaping the bottom line—showing us that the true “gravity” in today’s world is the force of consumerism. A 37.5:1 wealth ratio in favor of reality TV over the theory of relativity? You couldn’t make this stuff up. It’s as if every genius on this list spent decades bending space and time, only for Kylie to bend the beauty industry with a lip kit and a tweet.

Now, when it comes to perks, the intellectuals weren't exactly in the poorhouse. In fact, they were quietly living the VIP life, paid in the invisible currency of academia: free housing at elite universities, healthcare that would make private insurers blush, and all the institutional access their scientific hearts could desire. If we priced in their cozy perks, these figures would skyrocket. But, alas, perks don't inflate the bank account—just the ego.

The irony here, of course, is that with all that wealth, it’s the Kardashian world that’s inflated—not just their pockets, but their very personas. Fame feeds on fame, and in today’s economy, that’s where the real compounding happens. You could almost say that, much like relativity, the more wealth you gather, the more mass you accrue. It’s a cosmic joke of sorts: the richer they get, the bigger the universe of their influence.

Meanwhile, the intellectuals remain as weighty as ever—though not in dollars. Theirs is a different kind of fortune, one that shaped the modern world in ways no lip gloss could. But hey, at least the Kardashians have good lighting.

Step 1: Identifying Historical Intellectuals

Here’s a breakdown of key intellectuals often photographed together during scientific meetings or events, particularly focusing on notable figures with significant contributions:

1. Albert Einstein (Nobel Prize 1921, Physics)

2. Marie Curie (Nobel Prizes 1903, Physics; 1911, Chemistry)

3. Niels Bohr (Nobel Prize 1922, Physics)

4. Werner Heisenberg (Nobel Prize 1932, Physics) - the nazi

5. Max Planck (Nobel Prize 1918, Physics)

6. Enrico Fermi (Nobel Prize 1938, Physics)

7. Erwin Schrödinger (Nobel Prize 1933, Physics)

8. Paul Dirac (Nobel Prize 1933, Physics)

9. Wolfgang Pauli (Nobel Prize 1945, Physics)

10. Placeholder Figure (speculated): Let’s assume someone like Robert Oppenheimer, prominent in physics but did not win a Nobel Prize :(

This gives us 10 figures—9 identified and 1 placeholder who represents another figure of similar stature.

1. Albert Einstein

- Nobel Prize: $500,000 (adjusted to 2024)

- Salary & Academic Perks: Einstein was employed by Princeton University in his later years, with annual salaries around $10,000-$20,000 (inflation-adjusted to $200,000). Over a 40-year career, that totals $8 million.

- Total Wealth (Einstein): $500,000 (Nobel) + $8 million (salary) + $1 million (perks) = $9.5 million

2. Marie Curie

- Nobel Prizes: $1 million total for her two awards (adjusted to 2024)

- Salary & Academic Perks: Salaries in France were generally lower than in the U.S., so her earnings might average out to about $5 million over a lifetime.

- Total Wealth (Curie): $1 million (Nobel) + $5 million (salary) + $1 million (perks) = $7 million

3. Niels Bohr