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: 03.07.2025 00:16
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
When he's standing, in front of you
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
If babies could write, what questions would they ask on Quora?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
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:
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
According to Trump, Ukraine started the war. Why?
"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?"
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Crunch time—we’ll soon find out if Amazon’s launch providers are up to the job - Ars Technica
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
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).
Do you consider masturbating to porn cheating if you are married?
You can have your cake and eat it too
[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."
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
What is the "abundance agenda" and how does it relate to supply-side liberalism?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
[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.
Whatever.
Van der Zande On Pole at The Glen for Acura MSR - Sportscar365
There you go.^†
(Mumbles of assent)
Whatever.
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Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
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 wait any longer for the one you love?
US Stock Futures Advance as Trade Talks Continue: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg