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?

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

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

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

Double Speak About NASA Science - NASA Watch

Whatever.

[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 wait any longer for the world to begin?

Stocks Rise as Oil Fades and Fed Bets Sink Yields: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg.com

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

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?"

Does the West have a defense against China's PL17 air-air missile?

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Whatever.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Can I wear a headscarf? I am a white female but I have super curly hair, like 3B - 3C. Recently, I've been putting my hair in a pineapple and putting a headscarf around it. Is that okay? I'm not trying to appropriate any cultures.

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:

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

First American Spacewalk 60 Years Ago Today - The Weather Channel

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

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

Evidence piles up that Trump's tariffs are crushing job market - Daily Kos

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

^* 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

Why does Microsoft always create so many ugly, confusing, and ridiculous product names? The worst of them all is ".Net" (which is really confusing).

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."

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.

Do you believe that social media companies should allow posts spreading misinformation about election results, as suggested by Rep. Jim Jordan?

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

(Mumbles of assent)

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

A Mistake Led to the Discovery of an Underwater Island Full of Rare Earth Elements - The Daily Galaxy