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: 02.07.2025 05:23
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
World Boxing apologizes for naming Olympic champion Imane Khelif in sex test policy - NBC News
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
How do you cope when your mother doesn't love you?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Whatever.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"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?"
[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."
Scientists Stumble Upon Mysterious Lifeform They Can’t Yet Explain - The Daily Galaxy
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
When he's standing, in front of you
NHL mock draft: Mammoth surprise shakes up the board - theScore.com
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:
(Mumbles of assent)
Whatever.
Nonreciprocal light speed control achieved using cavity magnonics device - Phys.org
There you go.^†
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Dollar General Sees Greater-Than-Expected Growth as Higher-Income Consumers Seek Value - PYMNTS.com
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
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.
[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.
Satellite Pics Show How Russia Tried To Avert Ukraine Drone Strikes, But Failed - NDTV
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
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.