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?
15.06.2025 00:24
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
[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.
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
[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 is my crush beautiful to me but not to others?
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Why has Biden pulled ahead in battleground states and is now projected to win the 2024 presidency?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Whatever.
What discoveries in AI research have changed our understanding of intelligence evolution?
There you go.^†
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
‘Echo Valley’ Is the Trashiest A-List Lifetime Movie You’ve Ever Seen - rollingstone.com
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
When he's standing, in front of you
Why are there so many single moms in America?
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"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?"
Where's the Civil War everyone on the left said would happen?
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.
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)
Why do I sweat between my legs all the time, top off my legs, all way down?
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
"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
Jets from black holes J1405+0415 and J1610+1811 - BBC Sky at Night Magazine