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 00:40
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Tahini Is The High Protein Food You Can Eat Every Day—With Almost Everything - Vogue
[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.
"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?"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Why are white women dating more black guys than ever?
(Mumbles of assent)
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
There you go.^†
Why do men cheat on their wives with someone extremely unattractive?
Whatever.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Whatever.
Why would my nipples hurt when I touch them?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
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.
What should I do if a girl whom I love asks me to be her friend?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
[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."
Astronomers Just Discovered One of the Fastest Jets Ever in a Radio-Quiet Galaxy - The Daily Galaxy
When he's standing, in front of you
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
What is a sermon to talk about men?
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? 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 did Noah build the Ark? Was it in a desert or near water?