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?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

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

Is the Democrat party connected with organized crime in America?

"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

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

Where did Noah build the Ark? Was it in a desert or near water?

(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.

(Mumbles of assent)

General framework bridges quantum thermodynamics and non-Markovianity - Phys.org

Whatever.

When he's standing, in front of you

[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 Night & Good Luck' on CNN: George Clooney's Latest Live TV Plea - IndieWire

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Bruce Willis’ Family Share Heartbreaking Health Update on ‘Die Hard’ Star - TV Insider

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

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

"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?"

Scientists decipher the genetic history of 400 medieval skeletons - Earth.com

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.

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

A high-resolution spectrometer that fits into smartphones - Phys.org

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

There you go.^†

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

Microsoft Installs Emergency Update On Windows PCs - Forbes

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:

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Whatever.

What's the gayest thing you have experienced on an only boys sleepover?