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: 18.06.2025 06:38
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
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:
Why cant I motivate myself to go to school (grade 10)?
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
[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.
(Mumbles of assent)
Why aren't F1 cars popular on the street?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
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.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Why do many women wear sleeveless shirts, more so than men?
[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."
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why is it that women are stronger than men nowadays?
Whatever.
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Whatever.
Kuorans can you write a sad story about kpop?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
"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 am I always so tired, no matter how much I sleep?
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
When he's standing, in front of you
… 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?"
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
There you go.^†
Costco opens a whole new kind of store - TheStreet
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
You can have your cake and eat it too
At what stage in your life did you realize, "No, I can't do this any more" and walk out? Why?