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: 03.07.2025 05:40
You can have your cake and eat it too
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Measles Exposure Prompts Health Warning In Bay Area - Patch
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
(Mumbles of assent)
Injuries force USMNT to make roster changes as the Gold Cup nears - The Washington Post
[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."
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?
‘Gas station heroin’ is technically illegal and widely available. Here are the facts - AP News
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
2025 EchoPark Speedway, Lime Rock Park pit stall assignments - NASCAR.com
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Whatever.
[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.
Xbox sale round-up June 17, 2025 - TrueAchievements
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:
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
When he's standing, in front of you
Non adipisci autem repellat fugiat.
Whatever.
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
"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?"
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.
Are there many people here who suffer from schizophrenia?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
There you go.^†
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
The U.S. hasn’t seen a new confirmed human bird flu case in nearly 4 months — why? - Yahoo