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?

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

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

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

China accuses US of ‘severely violating’ trade truce - Financial Times

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."

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:

U.S. Employers Are Shedding Jobs as DOGE Cuts Deep - Barron's

Whatever.

Whatever.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Massive Solar Storm Sparks Rare G4 Alert: What It Means for Earth - SciTechDaily

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

There you go.^†

(Mumbles of assent)

How do you get people to follow your Quora Space?

[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 wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

How will the newly imposed trade tariffs affect the global economy?

[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."

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.

"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 the early "F1" movie reviews are saying ahead of New York premiere - Motorsport.com

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

Buffalo Trace Adds Eagle Rare 12 To Its Permanent Lineup Of Age-Stated Bourbons - Forbes

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

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

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

Who’ll be the odd man out in the Cleveland quarterback battle? - NBC Sports

When he's standing, in front of you

You can have your cake and eat it too

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Police take back statement dismissing hate crime in gay actor’s killing - The Washington Post