# "A Beautiful Mind": Resigning Your Pen?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-beautiful-mind-resigning-your-pen/180501>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 8, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-beautiful-mind-resigning-your-pen/180501 "2003-06-08T19:34:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-beautiful-mind-resigning-your-pen/180501/1 "2003-06-08T19:34:53Z")

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In the movie, “A Beautiful Mind”, Dr. John Nash eventually wins the Nobel Prize. Shortly after this, there is a scene where his collegues walk over to congratulation him by turning in their pens to him. What is this? Is this a Princeton thing, or a Noebl Prize protocol?

Thanks,

- Jinx

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-beautiful-mind-resigning-your-pen/180501/2 "2003-06-08T19:37:15Z")

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It’s a bizarre ritual made up entirely for the movie. No such pen ceremony exists at Princeton.

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-beautiful-mind-resigning-your-pen/180501/3 "2003-06-08T20:17:55Z")

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Yeah, thanks Friedo… My apologies to the SDopers! I didn’t recheck a previous post where this question was eventually addressed.

I should close the thread…if I could, I surely would, I surely would! - Jinx