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?
13.06.2025 00:56
"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
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Do you usually wear your panties over or under your pantyhose?
(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?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Exercise improves colon cancer survival, high-quality trial finds - Ars Technica
[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.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
[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."
What we learned from the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours test day - The Race
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
[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
32.4 Patch Notes - Blizzard Entertainment
Whatever.
There you go.^†
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
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.
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
What was your first gay male experience?
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
(Mumbles of assent)
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:
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
"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?"
Random Eagles notes: Bryce Huff trade perhaps signals some confidence in Azeez Ojulari - PhillyVoice
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Whatever.