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?
14.06.2025 01:14
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
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.
Can the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) be reversed?
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
There you go.^†
Do guys prefer big boobs or small boobs? Why?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
You can have your cake and eat it too
[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.
What do men find attractive in an older woman?
(Mumbles of assent)
When he's standing, in front of you
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:
What type of fish is best for fish tacos?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Whatever.
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
I Can't Wait for Apple's F1 Movie. Its Haptic iPhone Trailer Has Me Even More Excited - CNET
[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."
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Latest WA shipping and tourism numbers tell a depressing story - The Seattle Times
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Did Leonardo da Vinci paint two Mona Lisas? Where are they?
(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?"
Whatever.
How did the Nazis figure out whether a person or community is 'Aryan' or not?