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?"

[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.

[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."

How do Democrat Party voters feel about the fact that Kamala Harris never received one primary vote to be the nominee in 2020 and certainly not in 2024?

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

(Mumbles of assent)

Whatever.

The FTC has reopened claims for Fortnite settlement refunds: here’s how you can submit one - The Verge

You can have your cake and eat it too

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

When he's standing, in front of you

Why do people have trouble accepting the very true fact that "The Blue Marble" photo of Earth is a composite and therefore (just like every other subsequent "picture" of Earth NASA has ever shown us) not a real photo but computer generated?

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

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

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

I am married for 3 years. My husband keeps pressing my boobs 40-50 times a day. He never stops though I ask him not to. What I should do to stop it?

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

R-Truth receives outpouring of support from WWE stars after stunning release: ‘Immeasurable’ void - New York Post

Whatever.

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."

Disney makes hundreds more layoffs as it cuts costs - BBC

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

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

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.

Scientists release a statement after identifying a strange object in space emitting signals to Earth every 44 minutes. - Farmingdale Observer

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

There you go.^†

Is reducing immigration a potential solution to the housing crisis in Britain?

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

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

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:

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