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?

When he's standing, in front of you

There you go.^†

(Mumbles of assent)

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"Good idea, but how can we wangle something that says 'Physics'?"

You can have your cake and eat it too

A fly on the wall at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

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"Naah, Linnainmaa is a Finn. Can't give it to a bloody Finnish mathematician. Let's go for drinks. Brännvin anyone?"

Whatever.

Whatever.

Trump said we don't need Canada's lumber. So a good incentive and subsidy to compete against the highly subsidized Canadian lumber industry for home construction is needed. What would Canadians do when they have no one to export their timber to?

[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."

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Fortunately, we are privy to the discussion that led up to this:

How can I earn money through OnlyFans?

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:

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

[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.

Horoscope for Sunday, June 08, 2025 - Chicago Sun-Times

"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 wait any longer for the one you love?

[Older voice] "Mmm. What about Hinton, he's widely regarded? Nobody got fired for buying IBM"

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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.

"Good point, I'm sure we can swing it. And let's tack on Hopfield while we're about it."

"Where can we shoehorn it in? Chemistry is easy 'cos AlphaFold; but what about physics? A bit more challenging, right?"

How conservative the Japanese people really is? And the government?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

^* Fibiger got the 1926 Medicine prize for the discovery of Spiroptera carcinoma (Don’t ask).

… then anything is possible. There’s no rule that a Nobel Prize has to make sense.^*

What is red light therapy? Can a normal LED bulb that we use in a room be used for red-light therapy for eyes?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

"Didn't he do something with Boltzmann in it? That sounds physics-y. RBMs and stuff, eh?"

They then move on to selectively provide their own version of history. But hey, it’s OK. They wanted controversy, didn’t they? Whatever.

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