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?
12.06.2025 01:49
"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.
"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?"
Fresh iPhone 17 leak gives first close-up look at next-gen Apple smartphones - Mashable
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.
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
World fertility rates in 'unprecedented decline' - UN - BBC
(Mumbles of assent)
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Can you summarize season 1 of "The Acolyte"?
There you go.^†
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Death threats to Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. came from "overseas" resident - NBC Sports
[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."
Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
When he's standing, in front of you
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Binge Eating Disorder: Plea for specialist services in Northern Ireland - BBC
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
[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 one you love?
What do you think of the Quora group "It's Ok to Be White" for people who are proud of being white?
… 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:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Why is Harley-Davidson dropping diversity initiatives after the right-wing anti-DEI campaign?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
^† They rationalise their decision thusly: