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?
12.06.2025 09:16
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
(Mumbles of assent)
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.
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:
[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.
Have you ever been humiliated in front of a group of girls and enjoyed 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."
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
You can have your cake and eat it too
"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.
US Steel workers see hope of job security in deal with Japan’s Nippon - Financial Times
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Can you provide a list of cities named after animals and the animals they were named after?
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.
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
What's at the center of Mars? Maybe the stench of rotten eggs - Space
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
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?"
What happened to your school bully?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
There you go.^†
What's a joke you haven't used yet, but are dying to share?
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
When he's standing, in front of you