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: 21.06.2025 13:31
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
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.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
How do I seduce my sister? (I am an Indian) I want to have sex with her.?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
When he's standing, in front of you
First quantum-mechanical model of quasicrystals reveals why they exist - Phys.org
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
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:
[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."
(Mumbles of assent)
Whatever.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
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.^†
Samsung Nears Wide-Ranging Deal With Perplexity for AI Features - Bloomberg.com
[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?"
Whatever.
The Largest Black Hole Jet Ever Found Is 3 Times the Size of the Milky Way - The Daily Galaxy
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
Which sunblock is best for oily skin?
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
You can have your cake and eat it too
Id ea voluptatem rerum temporibus expedita facere.
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Walmart Nintendo Switch 2: it was in stock and will be back next week - The Shortcut | Matt Swider