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?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

(Mumbles of assent)

What Casper Ruud said about Carlos Alcaraz after he won his first ever Grand Slam title back in 2022 at the US Open - The Tennis Gazette

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

Laws of physics are still broken: Attempt to explain away black holes' central singularity falls short, scientist says - Space

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

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:

Whatever.

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[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.

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?"

Tectonic plates can spread subduction like a contagion — jumping from one oceanic plate to another - Live Science

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

When he's standing, in front of you

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

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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?"

There you go.^†

Bessent Emerging as a Contender to Succeed Fed’s Powell - Bloomberg

[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?"

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

Is a man who enjoys anal sex considered a sissy? For those who think so, why can't they be thought of as someone who enjoys a variety of sexual pleasure?

You can have your cake and eat it too

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

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

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