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?
10.06.2025 13:13
(Mumbles of assent)
You can have your cake and eat it too
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Bitcoin nears $105K as Donald Trump demands 'full point' Fed rate cut - Cointelegraph
There you go.^†
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
When he's standing, in front of you
DNA from 9,000-year-old skeletons disproves migratory waves theory from South Africa - Earth.com
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?"
[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.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
[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:
What should I do to stop being angered easily?
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
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?"
Apple drops a spot on 2025 Fortune 500 list - 9to5Mac
Whatever.
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
“Very Odd” New Sea Monster Identified After Decades of Mystery - SciTechDaily
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Do women like watching men sucking men?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
"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 one you love?
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
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.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*