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?
11.06.2025 09:39

When he's standing, in front of you
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
Circle IPO soars, giving hope to more startups waiting to go public - TechCrunch
[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."
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
There you go.^†
What are your thoughts on RM's new album "Right Place, Wrong Person"?
You can have your cake and eat it too
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
What are the best mattress options for a comfortable night's sleep in Pompano Beach?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
"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?"
[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.
How do you know how physically attractive you actually are?
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
Why do I feel worthless most of the time?
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
What are the top 5 star Michelin restaurants near Pompano Beach, Florida?
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Whatever.
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
Who is the greatest light welterweight boxer of all time?
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:
Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
‘The Life of Chuck’: Never Mind the Apocalypse, Watch Tom Hiddleston Dance! - Rolling Stone
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
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.
(Mumbles of assent)