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?
16.06.2025 00:36
(Mumbles of assent)
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
There you go.^†
How can we understand the mind of a Trump supporter?
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:
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
You can have your cake and eat it too
When he's standing, in front of you
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
How to reduce the age of the heart by 20 years - Times of India
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
What is the story behind bhai dooj?
"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?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why do people stop working towards achieving their dreams?
[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.
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
What will the legacy of Jimmy Carter be in light of his death today at 100?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Whatever.
Which fish tastes good for South Indian curries?
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
[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."
What is it that gives a man who is a submissive cock sucker his most pleasure?
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?"