How did a computer scientist such as Geoffrey Hinton manage to win a Nobel Prize in physics when computer science already has its own Nobel Prize equivalent in the Turing Awards?
11.06.2025 04:54
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Why do people still think Michael Jackson was guilty?
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
(Mumbles of assent)
You can have your cake and eat it too
[Younger voice] "But wait a minute, Ising-Lenz goes back to the 1920's. And didn't Hinton plagiarise rather a lot? He also didn't invent modern backprop, did he, that's Linnainmaa? And Amari preceded Hopfield, too. That's not a good look."
Want to lower your cholesterol? Try a daily cup of this common bean - The Independent
Whatever.
[The basic structure of artificial neural networks] has close similarities with spin models in statistical physics applied to magnetism or alloy theory. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes research exploiting this connection to make breakthrough methodological advances in the field of ANN.
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Asian Shares Have Tepid Start Before US Jobs Data: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
There you go.^†
What symptoms did you notice before being diagnosed with cancer?
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
When he's standing, in front of you
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
What did your sister do to you that you can never forget?
In December 1973, when Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, comedian Tom Lehrer dropped his mic and stamped on it—satire had just died.
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
In awarding prizes, the Nobel Committees often seem only marginally more competent than MTG is at explaining meteorology. And if they can give a literature prize for lyrics like:
Volcanic Eruptions Can Create Ice in The Sky, And We Finally Know How - ScienceAlert
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
"Hey guys, AI is pretty big so let's centre our prizes on it this year. We can get some attention, and it's all about advertising, at the end of the day, isn't it?"
Whatever.
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.