Logo

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?

Last Updated: 19.06.2025 09:00

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?

(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.

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Why are details for questions here on Quora so limited? I have an account here on Quora and Yahoo Answers. I like discussing different subjects.

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

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

(Mumbles of assent)

What are some alternatives to wearing a bra? Why do some women feel pressure to wear bras even though there may not be any benefits?

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

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

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

What do you think of the Black history lessons in the PBS documentary about jazz pianist-singer Hazel Scott?

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?"

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.

Would you date a Muslim guy? Why/why not?

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

Whatever.

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

How do you handle family members who ask for handouts?

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

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Why are Republicans so afraid of a strong leader like Vice President Kamala Harris? Are they worried if she becomes President she will make them look stupid?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

[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."

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

Joe Biden is not the best president we had. That would be John F. Kennedy. How is voting for Donald Trump any worse than voting for Joe Biden?

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?"

Whatever.

How can we understand the mind of a Trump supporter?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

There you go.^†

When he's standing, in front of you

OnePlus Watch 3 gets a smaller 43mm size alongside new Buds 4 in the US next month - 9to5Google