Case Study one
Alfred Nobel’s Explosive Capstone
From Dynamite to Distinction
“My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions.”
Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have stood as some of the most prestigious awards in the world. This is an example of a Capstone that follows the general arc of one’s life. Its owner, Alfred Nobel — the man known for inventing one of the most powerful tools of destruction — ultimately chose to dedicate his fortune to celebrating human achievement, progress, and peace.
This case embodies the classic order of Capstone Thinking:
Cornerstone: Being raised in a family of inventors and engineers
Keystone: Invention, scientific breakthrough, and wealth accumulation from explosive patents — transforming industries, but also warfare
Capstone: Redirecting wealth and a foundation toward celebrating peace, science, and literature — to leave the world better than he found it
Cornerstone Phase: Nobel’s Formative Years
Born in Stockholm in 1833, Alfred Nobel was raised in a family of Swedish inventors and engineers, cultivating a deep interest in science and technology from an early age. Initially following in his father’s footsteps, he worked in the family’s engineering firm in Russia. It laid the foundations for Nobel to become the archetypal 19th-century polymath: chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, linguist. His true passion, though, lay in chemistry — which would eventually evolve into an expertise in explosives.
Keystone Phase:
Revolutionising the Explosives Industry
Nobel spent much of his life alone, working across laboratories in Sweden, France, Italy and beyond. A relentless inventor, he would hold over 350 patents. His key contributions to the explosives industry were quite literally groundbreaking:
Detonator: Allowed for the controlled explosion of nitroglycerine, making it a safer and more practical explosive
Dynamite: Invented in 1866 by mixing nitroglycerine with kieselguhr, a fine sand — improving the transportability and handling of nitroglycerine and revolutionising construction, mining, and other industries
Nobel’s entrepreneurial drive led him to establish a global network of explosives factories, solidifying his position as a leading figure in the industry. He also founded the Nobel Dynamite Trust Company, pioneering the concept of an international holding company. He believed his inventions would deter war:
“My dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions.”
But the reality was different. Nobel’s inventions — and his name — became inextricably linked to destruction.
The Pivotal Moment: A Moral Jolt?
A French newspaper mistakenly published his obituary (thinking his brother had died). The headline read:
“Le marchand de la mort est mort.” — The merchant of death is dead.
It stung. It was a mirror held up to a man who realised this might be how the world would remember him. That wasn’t the legacy he wanted.
Capstone Phase:
The Nobel Prizes – Legacy by Design
In his last will and testament, written in 1895 (a year before his death), Nobel stated that his fortune be used to reward “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
Nearly all of his vast fortune was allocated to establish the Nobel Prizes, awarded for outstanding efforts in the fields Nobel cared most about: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. The Nobel Foundation was created to ensure his wishes were carried out.
Some suggest, even on the official Nobel website, that this might have been a way for him to reconcile or defend his earlier activity. While the myth of Nobel reading his own obituary is unverified, his decision to create the prizes was likely driven by a combination of factors —including disillusionment with warfare and a desire to atone for the destructive power of his inventions.
Conclusion
The Nobel Peace Prize remains a powerful symbol of hope — a testament to the pursuit of peace and international understanding, despite the complexities that surround it. It has outlasted empires and ideologies. Yet scepticism endures: accusations of political influence, Eurocentrism, premature awards, and controversial recipients continue to shadow its reputation.
Still, for many, the Nobel is the ultimate recognition. More than 1,000 laureates have now been named — each a keystone moment that nudged science, literature, or peace in a new direction. As Nobel laureate George Wald once put it:
“The Nobel Prize is an honor unique in the world in having found its way into the hearts and minds of simple people everywhere. It casts a light of peace and reason upon us all; and for that I am especially grateful.”
Closing: An Outsized Impact
Few awards command such prestige. The Nobel has become not just a medal, but a multiplier — often transforming an individual breakthrough into a global platform. It retains such magnetic power that even the current President of the United States is openly craving the prize and shouting to the media about how he deserves one. Recognition at this level is not about money or ceremony; it is about being written into the architecture of history itself.
And yet: some of the most impactful figures of our age remain Nobel-less. Bill Gates, for example, whose foundation has reshaped global health and development. A former Gates Foundation employee once claimed: “It’s the prize Bill wants more than anything else in the world.”
Which leads us to Case Study Two…