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?
Last Updated: 01.07.2025 00:33
You can have your cake and eat it too
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.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
What are some tips for braiding a woman's hair on a date?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
[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."
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
When he's standing, in front of you
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
(Mumbles of assent)
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
How Dakota Johnson Is Doing After Chris Martin Split - BuzzFeed
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
There you go.^†
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Night Owls Face Faster Cognitive Decline - Neuroscience News
[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.
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:
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Whatever.
What are the best AI recruiting tools and AI hiring software available today?
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Hollywood actress popular for hit ’70s shows dead at 95 - NJ.com
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
"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?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Indiana Pacers assistant Lloyd Pierce taking lessons for next opportunity as head coach - Andscape