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 23:59
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
There you go.^†
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
SpaceX launches 500th orbital Falcon rocket on 15th anniversary of the Falcon 9 - Spaceflight Now
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
[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."
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:
Brain’s Reward Center Tracks Not Just What, But When Rewards Arrive - Neuroscience News
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"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?"
Over-the-counter supplement could prevent heart disease in type 2 diabetes patients - Medical Xpress
Whatever.
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why do people still think Michael Jackson was guilty?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
You can have your cake and eat it too
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Skin Aging Reduced by Molecules from Bacteria in the Blood - Neuroscience News
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
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?"
Why do you think Democrat favorability ratings are so low?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
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.
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Surprising Way Five Days Of Junk Food Impacts Your Brain - MindBodyGreen
Whatever.
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? 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.
Scientists Uncover Giant Spiders That Once Terrorized Jurassic Earth - The Daily Galaxy
(Mumbles of assent)
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).