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?
13.06.2025 09:34
Why wait any longer for the one you love?
My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.
… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*
How many trans people are lawful gun owners?
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:
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).
Is it okay for a wife who comes home from a date to tell her husband what she did?
[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"
"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?"
(Mumbles of assent)
How do you deal with a neighbor stealing?
[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."
"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"
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.
How do you have intercourse with a girl who can remember you for a long time?
Whatever.
"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."
A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Can a meme heal what therapy can't?
"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"
[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.
You can have your cake and eat it too
How do you perform a lap dance for your boyfriend or husband?
Whatever.
"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"
^† They rationalise their decision thusly:
(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)
"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"
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 Democrats never produce a good argument for why Trump was a bad president?
There you go.^†
When he's standing, in front of you
Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:
What was your best unexpected reunion with your childhood best friend?