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?
12.06.2025 12:12
"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 one you love?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"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?"
"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).
Who is the beast of Revelation 13?
[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."
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Geomagnetic storm could make northern lights visible in Chicago on Sunday night - Chicago Sun-Times
Whatever.
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.
What are the 10 things you regret doing in your life?
You can have your cake and eat it too
[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.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
What is the difference between Michael Corleone’s marriage to Apollonia Vitelli and Kay Adams?
When he's standing, in front of you
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
(Mumbles of assent)
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
What do you love to do at night when you’re alone?
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.
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
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:
There you go.^†
Need a different reason to eat more fiber? How about microplastics? - The Seattle Times