We've always been a big fan of E.O. Wilson, the Harvard biologist who gave the world The Ants, the Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of what goes on inside those hills. Wilson's just added to his own mountain of awards: He's won one of three 2007 TED Prizes, a kind of mini-Nobel for the Silicon Valley set. The winners were announced this week at a ceremony hosted by TED founder Chris Anderson. Also recognized were former President Bill Clinton and photojournalist James Nachtwey - they'll all collect $100,000 plus a "pledge of support" from the "TED community."

This is all good stuff, of course. Over at the Conferenza blog, though, Gary Bolles reasonably wonders whether honoring Clinton (and, really, Wilson too) might be akin to taking coal to Newcastle. This being the blogosphere, Anderson himself has logged on to reply that it's not about what TED can do for the prize-winners, but rather "which individuals can best inspire the TED community to make a difference in the world." Hmm, we're siding with Bolles on this one.