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?
12.06.2025 03:15
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
You can have your cake and eat it too
Whatever.
Why do I feel so lazy every time I get into my room?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Why did Donald Trump look so old during the debate?
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
"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?"
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
What does the stink of the skunk look like? Why would it be dangerous?
There you go.^†
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
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.
Is it true that schizophrenia can sometimes be a demonic attack or black magic?
(Mumbles of assent)
When he's standing, in front of you
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Scientists find 34-million-year-old snake that changes our understanding of evolution - Earth.com
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:
[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."
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
What are the coolest new smart home gadgets to upgrade your living space?
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"
[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.
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
When a narcissist mad at their new supply, do they take it out on the old supply?