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: 22.06.2025 08:03
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
[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."
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
(Mumbles of assent)
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
You can have your cake and eat it too
Do they have internet in hell? Most people on here seem like damned souls or demons.
"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 one you love?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Insulin Isn't Just Made by The Pancreas. Here's Another Location Few Know About. - ScienceAlert
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? 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.
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Bats don't get cancer, now scientists think they know the reason - Earth.com
"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.
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Rikishi calls for WWE writers to be fired for botching Jey Uso’s world title run - Cageside Seats
When he's standing, in front of you
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Vienna calling: Strauss's 'Blue Danube' waltzes into outer space - Phys.org
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
There you go.^†
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Diabetes drug shows benefits for patients with liver disease - Medical Xpress
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
[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.
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:
Single-dose CAR-T therapy potentially curative in multiple myeloma - Medical Xpress