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?
13.06.2025 06:33
^* 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?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Why am I so unproductive when it's a holiday the next day?
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
[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.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
When he's standing, in front of you
What is the Abu Shusha massacre in Palestine?
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
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.
Big brands are staying quiet this Pride Month - CNN
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
You can have your cake and eat it too
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
'Strawberry Moon' 2025: June's full moon is about to break an annual record - Live Science
Whatever.
(Mumbles of assent)
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
The World Ends with You Director Tatsuya Kando Leaves Square Enix - Anime News Network
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Whatever.
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
[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."
"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:
What was the worst spanking you got growing up?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
There you go.^†
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: