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 05:34
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Doesn't Musk hire Security for his Tesla dealerships?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about 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."
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
The Universe's Most Powerful Cosmic Rays May Finally Be Explained - ScienceAlert
(Mumbles of assent)
"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.
Here's the cheapest way to buy Stellar Blade on PC - PCGamesN
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
How do I seduce my sister? (I am an Indian) I want to have sex with her.?
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Otsuka tops Vera Therapeutics in kidney disease study showdown - statnews.com
There you go.^†
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Whatever.
Secret leprosy infected the Americas before European arrival - DW
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Whatever.
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:
Mars’ Mysterious Dark Streaks Are NOT Caused by Water! Here’s the Real Story - The Daily Galaxy
[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.
"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?"
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Why is every human messed up in some way?
When he's standing, in front of you
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.
You can have your cake and eat it too