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?

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

[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."

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

Water Discovered Around a Young, Sun-Like Star For First Time - ScienceAlert

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

When he's standing, in front of you

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

How do you get started in bestiality with a dog as a male?

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.

(Mumbles of assent)

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

Why is it important for Hollywood celebrities to come out against Trump?

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

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:

[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.

Can you share a story of someone who had a lucky experience while hitchhiking?

There you go.^†

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

"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?"

What’s the craziest thing you’ve heard pretending to be asleep?

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

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Whatever.

Why is Harley-Davidson dropping diversity initiatives after the right-wing anti-DEI campaign?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

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

What are some fun/kinky things to do with your partner?

Whatever.

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

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

Can a twin flame runner be happy in a karmic relationship?

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

What does it mean when a British person says "I can't be asked"?