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?
08.06.2025 08:32
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Have you ever witnessed political correctness harm someone?
Whatever.
Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
GameStop promise replacements after retail staff staples Switch 2 screens - OC3D
There you go.^†
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
No Man's Sky Gets A Massive Switch 2 Upgrade And It's All Free - Kotaku
[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.
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.
When he's standing, in front of you
In my experience, British people are fat, ugly and arrogant. Why is it and can it be changed?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
(Mumbles of assent)
They Were 8,000-Pound Sloths With Claws and Armor – Then Humans Showed Up - SciTechDaily
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
I have the power to talk to aliens through using telepathy. Why do people think I'm crazy?
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
"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?"
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:
Has Messi scored against the Buffon?
You can have your cake and eat it too
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Used vehicle prices ease from tariff fear-buying highs but remain elevated - CNBC
[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."
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).