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?
15.06.2025 10:06
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
How did you react when your doctor ordered a colonoscopy?
[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?"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
How do you respond to "I don't like you anymore"?
[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."
Whatever.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
What would TERFs do if there weren't such a thing as being transgender? Who would be their target?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
What’s the worst thing you caught anyone in your family doing?
(Mumbles of assent)
You can have your cake and eat it too
Whatever.
Do you enjoy cheating on your spouse? If so, why?
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
What is something you have to share?
"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:
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:
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.
When he's standing, in front of you
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
What is your opinion on the band Nickelback? Why do they receive criticism from some people?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
There you go.^†
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Why do narcissists devour so much sugar (candy, ice cream, donuts, etc., in huge amounts at a time)?