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: 27.06.2025 15:45
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Fossils show colonies of reptiles lived communally 250 million years ago - Phys.org
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:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
[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.
Hubble reveals 20-year time-lapse of Uranus' changing atmosphere - TechSpot
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
"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
Gov. Abbott activates state emergency resources ahead of anticipated severe weather - Click2Houston
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
There you go.^†
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
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."
Scientists are experimenting with a completely new approach to combat human aging - Earth.com
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Why didn't Taylor Swift do Taylor Swift (Taylors version)?
Whatever.
You can have your cake and eat it too
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.
Necessitatibus magni nemo ut voluptatem dolore natus.
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
"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?"
(Mumbles of assent)
How Cocaine Hijacks the Brain - Neuroscience News
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Whatever.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Mario Kart World dev comments on why non-Mario characters aren’t included - Nintendo Everything