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: 28.06.2025 11:08
(Mumbles of assent)
There you go.^†
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
[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.
"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?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
What is the review of Asitis Atom Power within whey protein?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
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:
Kristopher Mohamed needs help to fund cancer fight - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
When he's standing, in front of you
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
Whatever.
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
What’s a mistake most guys make when trying to get a girlfriend?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Whatever.
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
RFK Jr. looks to fast track rare disease drug approvals (updated) - Seeking Alpha
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
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.
[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 closer a volcano is to erupting, the greener the trees around it look from space - Live Science
You can have your cake and eat it too
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
S&P 500 scores best May since 1990, but stocks end month with fresh tariff worries - MarketWatch