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?

[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."

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

[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 do some straight men enjoy wearing women's lingerie?

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

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

These Diabetes Drugs Are Finding New Life as an Antiaging Hack - WSJ

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:

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

There you go.^†

Nintendo Switch 2 owners urged not to skip crucial step setting up their new consoles - GAMINGbible

Whatever.

"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?"

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Artificial Intelligence Is Unlocking the Secrets of Black Holes - WIRED

When he's standing, in front of you

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

5 food combinations that naturally boost gut health - Times of India

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.

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

He said he loves me, but why is it difficult for him to leave his wife?

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

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

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

Stocks Stay Lukewarm After US, China Trade Talks: Markets Wrap - Bloomberg

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

Whatever.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Russell Wilson: Nothing changes for me with Jaxson Dart here - NBC Sports

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

(Mumbles of assent)

Treasury Secretary Busts ‘Alarmist’ Inflation Predictions - The Daily Wire