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 06:10
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
When he's standing, in front of you
Whatever.
Teddi Mellencamp cozies up to rumored new boyfriend during romantic outing - Page Six
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.
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
[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."
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
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 is the best way to get my wife to become a hotwife?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
There you go.^†
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Trump, DOJ threaten Calif. with legal action, fines after trans athlete’s win - The Washington Post
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Whatever.
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
How do I build muscle easily with isometrics?
(Mumbles of assent)
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Are INFJs essentially the most introverted type?
[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.
"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?"
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Aussie firms Soul Patts and Brickworks' $9 billion merger sends their shares rocketing - CNBC
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
You can have your cake and eat it too
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences