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?

Whatever.

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.^*

A new type of X-point radiator that prevents tokamaks from overheating - Phys.org

"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?"

(Mumbles of assent)

[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.

Is the Donald Trump Bible any different from a regular Bible? Has Trump altered its contents?

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

What is the lowest probability event you have personally witnessed?

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

When he's standing, in front of you

Drinking coffee could help you age better, according to this Harvard study. - Stewartville Star

[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."

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.

What is one small habit that has transformed your life in unexpected ways?

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

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

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.

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(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

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

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

Why were the Japanese soldiers in WW II so hesitant to surrender in battle?

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

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:

NASA raises the odds that an asteroid could hit the moon in 2032 - Space

There you go.^†

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

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

K-pop supergroup BTS nears reunion as two more members end military service - The Washington Post