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."

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

Your chatbot friend might be messing with your mind - The Washington Post

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

When he's standing, in front of you

Whatever.

Can you explain the meaning of "mint condition" in relation to antiques or collectibles?

"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?"

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Nick Chubb, Texans Agree to Contract After 7 Seasons with Browns, RB Posts Video - Bleacher Report

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

[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.

Horoscope for Saturday, June 14, 2025 - Chicago Sun-Times

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

Whatever.

(Mumbles of assent)

Can AI replace a product manager?

"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:

There you go.^†

NASA is launching a $488 million mission with its new telescope, which is expected to provide a lot of data. - Farmingdale Observer

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

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

Is anyone else losing complete respect for the US at this point?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

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

Sorry, Trump supporters, but eventually it will have to be asked: Why didn't Trump do as well in his first term as he is doing NOW?

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

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

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

‘I’m a Delicate Guy’: Chris Evans on Sharing His Sensitive Side in ‘Materialists’ - Rolling Stone