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 06:17
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
There you go.^†
[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.
What’s the worst thing you caught anyone in your family doing?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why do girls in Indian top colleges wear shorts?
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
[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."
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.
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Meta Ray-Ban Glasses are at their Lowest Price Ever: Deal of the Day - NBC News
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:
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Whatever.
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
What is it like to be a Christian in Iran?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
"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 world to begin?
Injuries force USMNT to make roster changes as the Gold Cup nears - The Washington Post
When he's standing, in front of you
(Mumbles of assent)
"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?"