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?
Last Updated: 02.07.2025 04:00
Whatever.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Massive Solar Storm Sparks Rare G4 Alert: What It Means for Earth - SciTechDaily
There you go.^†
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
You can have your cake and eat it too
Where did cosmic rays come from? Astrophysicists are closer to finding out - Phys.org
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
[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."
Whatever.
U.S. Employers Are Shedding Jobs as DOGE Cuts Deep - Barron's
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
[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.
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
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:
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Deion Sanders: Pre-draft attacks on Shedeur and Shilo "hurt" - NBC Sports
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Cognitive changes before DBS not a dementia risk factor in Parkinson’s - Parkinson's News Today
When he's standing, in front of you
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
(Mumbles of assent)
What can help me fall asleep at night?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
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.
Morning Briefing: Lindor Ties Jeter on Home Run Leaderboard - Metsmerized Online
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"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?"