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?
09.06.2025 07:47
"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?"
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Neuroscientists find individual differences in memory response to amygdala stimulation - PsyPost
When he's standing, in front of you
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
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:
Are We Wrong About Dark Matter? Dwarf Galaxies Suggest So - SciTechDaily
Whatever.
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Why do I sweat a great deal while exercising the same on some days and not so much on others?
You can have your cake and eat it too
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
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."
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.
Why prices from these cities in Utah and Nebraska won't be included in inflation data - NPR
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
(Mumbles of assent)
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Why are European countries warning European travelers to be careful traveling to the United States?
[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.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Flight attendant reportedly found naked during flight from SFO - SFGATE
There you go.^†
"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.^*