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 10:11
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."
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why do doctors refuse HRT to menopausal women but hand them out to trans people?
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? 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:
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Where do high school kids get weed from?
Whatever.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
[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.
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"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Sydney Sweeney and the business of being hot - 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?"
There you go.^†
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Thousands of Netflix fans gather for Tudum - TechCrunch
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.
Whatever.
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Mountaineers Defeat Kentucky to Advance to Super Regionals - West Virginia University Athletics
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
When he's standing, in front of you
Scientists Crack 30-Year Mystery Behind “Holy Grail” Cancer Drug - SciTechDaily
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
[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."
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You can have your cake and eat it too
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
(Mumbles of assent)