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: 29.06.2025 01:45
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
You can have your cake and eat it too
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Why do so many autistic adults deal with self-hatred?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Post-Dobbs abortions continue to increase: Report - Axios
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.
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Whatever.
Older Americans are happiest living in these 5 US states, study says — is yours one of them? - Yahoo
"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?"
[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.
There you go.^†
Report: Broncos are signing running back J.K. Dobbins to a one-year deal - Mile High Report
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'?"
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon Says U.S. Should Stockpile Missiles, Not Bitcoin - CoinDesk
(Mumbles of assent)
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
When he's standing, in front of you
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Threads is testing spoiler text, Zuckerberg says - TechCrunch
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"
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Whatever.
[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."
Shark Attack: “Jaws” Remains as Entertaining as It Was 50 Years Ago - Roger Ebert