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?

"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?"

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Are you afraid of being alone?

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.

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

Why are breasts attractive?

(Mumbles of assent)

Whatever.

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why is Fourth Wing so popular? What makes it stand out from other romantasy books? (No spoilers please)

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

There you go.^†

[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."

Why do you think most harem anime and manga have lame male protagonists that would be considered losers and pathetic by most people?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

[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.

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:

I’ve Figured Out a Method for Keeping My Son’s Favorite Toy Clean. It Might Lead to Some Trust Issues. - Slate Magazine

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

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

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

Is it common for female doctors to examine male patients without another nurse present? Is there a difference in protocol for nurses and physician assistants?

Whatever.

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

Labubu Is Becoming Its Own Asset Class - PYMNTS.com

When he's standing, in front of you

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

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

Apple’s Upgrades to CarPlay, iPad and Vision Pro Outshine Liquid Glass - Bloomberg.com

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.^*

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

Vikingo closes historic Worlds Collide with impressive win over Chad Gable - Cageside Seats