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?
10.06.2025 23:44
"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?"
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
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:
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
(Mumbles of assent)
'The Life of Chuck' might leave you brushing away tears — or scratching your head - NPR
When he's standing, in front of you
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
How do I convince flat earthers that the earth is round?
You can have your cake and eat it too
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Whatever.
What does the Bible say about the Antichrist? How will we know when he arrives on the scene?
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
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.
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
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?"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Private-sector firms added just 37,000 jobs in May, the lowest total in more than two years - CNN
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
There you go.^†
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
What makes outside showers appealing? Why are they not commonly seen?
[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.
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
What if the girl says that drama about you dating here? Is that a bad sign?
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences