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: 23.06.2025 23:59
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
When Kundalini is awakened accidentally, what can be done?
You can have your cake and eat it too
Whatever.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
UNC Falls to Oklahoma, Setting Up Winner-Take-All Finale in Regional - 247Sports
There you go.^†
"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?
What are the best skin care products for girls?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
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.
"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?"
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
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.
Derek Jeter Shares Brutal Reality for Yankees After Dodgers Loss - Sports Illustrated
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
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:
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Oracle Stock Jumps On Earnings Beat, Upbeat Cloud Growth Forecast - Investor's Business Daily
When he's standing, in front of you
[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."
(Mumbles of assent)
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 is now nearing the end of its run - Android Police
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Just sitting at home with this huge cock. Who can take care of it for me?
[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.
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Librarians breathe easy as tool spots toxic book pigment - The Times