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?
10.06.2025 01:56
You can have your cake and eat it too
Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Why would a girl not want you to know she has a crush on you?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
(Mumbles of assent)
How did you become popular in school?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
[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.
Will you share your wife? Can she take both of us at the same time?
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.
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
[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 are black people harassed more by police officers?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
When he's standing, in front of you
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:
It seems that I am cursed with bad luck. How do I break such a curse?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Whatever.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
There you go.^†
Citigroup lifts banking curbs on gun makers and sellers - NBC News
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
"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?"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Inside Ukraine’s audacious drone attack on Russian air bases - CNN
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"