To find out, the Harvard Gazette sat down with a pair of them.

Adams University Professor Eric Maskin and Oliver Hart, the Andrew E. Furer Professor of Economics, have each been awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – Maskin in 2007 and Hart just this year.

In a wide-ranging conversation just days after Hart received the prestigious academic award, the two colleagues and friends looked back on their distinguished careers, and discussed everything from the perks that come with joining the cohort of Nobel winners to their childhood ambitions.