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: 26.06.2025 00:29
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"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?"
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
That ‘unsubscribe’ link is actually a hidden security risk — do this instead - Tom's Guide
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
(Mumbles of assent)
You can have your cake and eat it too
Is there an MBTI personality that is more or less likely to handle stress?
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Google Play Store replaces ‘1-tap buy’ with ‘Slide to buy’ - 9to5Google
When he's standing, in front of you
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Why do unattractive men assume that a pretty woman like me want them?
[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.
[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?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
"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
Newark Airport to open its shuttered runway Monday, 13 days ahead of schedule - NBC News
There you go.^†
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.
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Tahini Is The High Protein Food You Can Eat Every Day—With Almost Everything - Vogue
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
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:
Which is the best face wash for oily skin?
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.
Whatever.
Million-Dollar Project Aims to Expose Bad Medical Research - Gizmodo