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 02:42
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"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."
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Whatever.
When he's standing, in front of you
Why does my vagina and around my butthole itch? I don't have weird discharge and I'm still a virgin.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
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:
[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.
Don't Make This Mistake When Setting Up Your Switch 2 - Kotaku
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Texas woman dies from brain-eating amoeba after using tap water for nasal rinse - Scripps News
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
(Mumbles of assent)
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Israel launches several attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, south Lebanon - Al Jazeera
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"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.^†
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
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.
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
You can have your cake and eat it too
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Where's Marty McFly's guitar? Search is on for 'Back to the Future' prop 4 decades later - NBC News
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"