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 09:42
[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"
Whatever.
Don't you think Democrats are so full of it stool softener and an enema couldn't help them?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
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:
"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 does a college girl cover her face with a scarf in Bangalore?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
There you go.^†
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Can you explain the meaning of "mint condition" in relation to antiques or collectibles?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Which Red Sox prospect will be next to draw Roman Anthony-level excitement? - MassLive
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
You can have your cake and eat it too
What's the most sordid activity you've ever seen or heard about at a bachelorette party?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
When he's standing, in front of you
What toxic behavior has been normalized by society?
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
[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.
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.
What are some life hacks for living on your own?
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Whatever.
(Mumbles of assent)