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?
10.06.2025 01:23
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
Whatever.
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
Why do liberals refuse to define what a woman is and what does that mean for the future of feminism?
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
[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."
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
How can you know if they are your twin flame and not limerence or obsession?
Whatever.
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:
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.
"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"
Don't miss the half-lit first quarter moon rise tonight — Here's what to look for - Space
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
There you go.^†
Scientists Are Close to Replicating the First Living Thing - Yahoo
You can have your cake and eat it too
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
What one thing makes someone a very mature person?
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
… 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.
Why do so many autistic adults deal with self-hatred?
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
(Mumbles of assent)
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.