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?
13.06.2025 01:11
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
What do you think is the most powerful line in the song "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" by Édith Piaf?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
What is the definite integral of x^x from 0 to 2?
Whatever.
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
You can have your cake and eat it too
How could Trump, with his deplorable garbage supporters, manage to win an election?
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:
(Mumbles of assent)
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
"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:
How much of lounge pianists playing is from repertoire, and how much is improvised?
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
[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."
Who has experienced what they called a happy accident (bestiality)?
"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
[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.
What isइस संसार में पहले भागवान आया की इंसान?
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.
Whatever.
These glowing axolotls may hold the secret to human limb regeneration - The Washington Post
There you go.^†
"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?"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?