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?
11.06.2025 17:50
(Mumbles of assent)
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Would you raise your children like your parents raised you?
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:
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
How Dragonfly will support the search for life on an uninhabitable world - NASASpaceFlight.com -
There you go.^†
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
When he's standing, in front of you
What’s something you did a lot as a kid that you don’t miss now that you’re an adult?
"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?
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why Sonics expansion talk could heat up this summer - The Seattle Times
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
Whatever.
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Whatever.
Does believing in God and Satan cause schizophrenia?
[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."
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
[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.
The Opener: Teel, Cubs, Tigers, Langeliers - MLB Trade Rumors
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
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.
‘We’re right at the epicenter’ - Meduza
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"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?"
Which is better, a naked picture of some one you know or porn videos?