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?

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

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

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

Three Seconds of Strength Training a Day Is All It Takes to Build Muscle Without Spending Hours at the Gym: Here’s How to Do It - The Daily Galaxy

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

^* 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.^*

Apple’s Liquid Glass design is paving the way for AR glasses - TechCrunch

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.

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

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

What breakthroughs are happening in foundational models of artificial intelligence (AI) in China?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Whatever.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Do you anal play alone?

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

Voyager IPO: Stock Rockets 84% Higher in Trading Debut - Barron's

There you go.^†

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

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:

Google says its updated Gemini 2.5 Pro AI model is better at coding - TechCrunch

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

Whatever.

(Mumbles of assent)

Colorado has now recorded 10 measles cases this year as airport outbreak grows - GazetteXtra

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

"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?"

[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."

Scientists Crack 30-Year Mystery Behind “Holy Grail” Cancer Drug - SciTechDaily

When he's standing, in front of you

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

[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.

Why do I (45, male) feel like I'm crushing on a girl (19, female)?