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?

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

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

[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.

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

Whatever.

How does a single-payer healthcare system handle costs for surgeries, and what's the patient experience like compared to private insurance?

(Mumbles of assent)

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

What actor accepted a film expecting to go unnoticed, only to find himself at the forefront of a gigantic success that transformed his career?

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

When he's standing, in front of you

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

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

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

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

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

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:

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Why are people saying that Taylor Swift is the smartest person on Earth?

There you go.^†

Whatever.

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

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"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?"

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

[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."

What happened to everybody's thick skin? It used to be that people really didn't get offended, now however, everybody gets offended by the least little thing.

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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?

This moon in the solar system continues to surprise scientists with the discovery of alternating water forms on its surface. - Farmingdale Observer