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: 19.06.2025 07:47
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Whatever.
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
(Mumbles of assent)
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
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.
Which country has the best and strictest legal system in the world?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
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 are Trump's and Khan's experiences with authorities in the US and Pakistan similar?
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:
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
[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."
When he's standing, in front of you
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
How do you take your erotic photos and how do you choose the poses?
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
[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.
If white people had been slaves, would WLM be a thing right now?
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
How can you tell if someone is cunning?
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
"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?"
There you go.^†
You can have your cake and eat it too
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Can you write a letter to your first love without mentioning his/her name?