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: 02.07.2025 02:18
Whatever.
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.
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
What is the future of AI in 2024?"?
When he's standing, in front of you
There you go.^†
Whatever.
Race and genetics do not line up well, new study confirms - Live Science
"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)
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
New COVID variant linked to painful ‘razor blade throat’ symptom - San Francisco Chronicle
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Do the British people realize how much American people absolutely despise them?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
You can have your cake and eat it too
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Sega's leaked sales figures show Sonic's new frontier is heading in the right direction - Eurogamer
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
[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."
[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.
Do North Koreans have access to K-Pop?
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
FromSoft acknowledges issues with Elden Ring Nightreign matchmaking - Eurogamer
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
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:
5 foods to add to your diet to prevent magnesium deficiency - Times of India
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)