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?

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

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

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:

Researchers claim spoof-proof random number generator breakthrough - theregister.com

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?"

(Mumbles of assent)

Why is sin so sweet?

[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.

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

This gamer shouldn’t have left his cousin unattended: in just a few seconds, his cousin literally destroyed his older relative’s simulator. - Stewartville Star

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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.

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

Something Deep in Our Galaxy Is Pulsing Every 44 Minutes. No One Knows Why. - AOL.com

"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?"

You can have your cake and eat it too

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

Is it possible for buyers to negotiate after an inspection if the appraisal is lower than expected?

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

When he's standing, in front of you

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

As Kamala Harris weighs a run for governor, some Democrats are moving on - The Washington Post

Whatever.

[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."

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

Germany’s Merz ventures into Trump’s lion’s den - politico.eu

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

There you go.^†

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Why are white women so overly emotional?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

Whatever.

Marvell Stock Slides. Why It Could Be the Cheap AI Chip Play. - Barron's