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?
14.06.2025 00:30
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
"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?"
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
How is digital marketing important for business?
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
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 one thing which you cannot stop however hard you try?
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"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.^*
Why do I feel worthless most of the time?
"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?"
[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."
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Are you more of a butt guy or a boob guy?
[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.
Whatever.
Whatever.
What are some tips for balancing chores, work, and family life as an adult with children?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
When he's standing, in front of you
What was your best sex experience that still makes you horny?
(Mumbles of assent)
There you go.^†
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
You can have your cake and eat it too
How do you find out who your handler is as a targeted individual?