Why? He argues that other people shouldn't get awards, but he's willing to take them himself? Honestly, I don't get it. His stance does real harm to young theorists, especially those doing cross-disciplinary research.

But I think this is a minor issue, and don't want to take away from the bigger point, which is the award that he very much deserves.

Disliking a system and even publicly arguing against it, while still participating in it, is not hypocrisy, it is pragmatism.

It would be hypocrisy if he started giving out his own award.

From the Wiki page:

> Very few of these checks were actually cashed, even the largest ones. More often they have been framed and kept as "bragging rights".[4][5]

Cashing a check only removes it from your possession if you hand it in to do so. Banks these days need only a physical scan of a check, e.g. via mobile phone deposit. Why not do both? There's nothing wrong with taking payment for your efforts.