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 05:46
When he's standing, in front of you
[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."
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Is it true that schizophrenia can sometimes be a demonic attack or black magic?
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.
There you go.^†
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Why do you have to be 18+ to go live on TikTok?
"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?"
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
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:
What should I expect after a BBL surgery?
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Who has experienced what they called a happy accident (bestiality)?
(Mumbles of assent)
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Whatever.
How to use Google's AI-powered NotebookLM — 5 tips to get started - Tom's Guide
Whatever.
[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:
What does it mean when someone is pretending to be me?
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
[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?
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Is Matt Gaetz qualified to be Attorney General of the United States?
"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
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Fireball streaks through aurora-filled skies photo of the day for June 5, 2025 - Space