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?

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

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

[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.

Does meth make women super horny like it does men?

There you go.^†

"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)

I replaced my notes app with ChatGPT — here’s how it upgraded my productivity - Tom's Guide

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

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.

Wanda Sykes delivers epic 26-minute acceptance speech, mentions every other winner at event and speaks up for trans people - CNN

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

How did Neo defeat the architect at the end of The Matrix: Reloaded? Was it solely due to his belief in himself or were there other factors at play?

"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:

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:

Pokémon GO Hyper Training Guide: Max IVs with Gold Bottle Caps from the Ancients Recovered Event - Pokémon GO Hub

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.

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

How is it not psychopathic to use someone for sex, even if they agree?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

When he's standing, in front of you

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Massive 'super-Earth' discovered in the habitable zone of its star, possibly supporting life - Earth.com

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

[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 to Cut Your Biological Age by Up to 16 Years: Make This Tweak to Your Daily Walk - Inc.com

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

Whatever.

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

Do you think that drug addiction is a symptom of larger societal ills? What is it about our culture that leaves so many feeling like they're inadequate, trying any ill to find a cure?