I have a blog post which discusses some of the connections between deep learning and advanced theoretical physics such as spin funnels and the renormalization group
http://charlesmartin14.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/why-does-deep-learning-work/https://calculatedcontent.com/2015/03/25/why-does-deep-learning-work/
http://charlesmartin14.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/why-deep-learning-works-ii-the-renormalization-group/https://calculatedcontent.com/2015/04/01/why-deep-learning-works-ii-the-renormalization-group/
