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?

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

Gold overtakes euro as global reserve asset, ECB says - Financial Times

There you go.^†

You can have your cake and eat it too

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

What did Chandrashekhar Azad say about Hinduism during a podcast?

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

When he's standing, in front of you

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

Non adipisci autem repellat fugiat.

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

(Mumbles of assent)

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

Have you ever had sex with your husband's friend in front of your husband? Please tell about it and elaborate.

Whatever.

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:

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Is there a future where LA's wildfire seasons no longer exist?

[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."

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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.

Alex Cora Takes Blame for Red Sox Woes After Extra Innings Loss - Sports Illustrated

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

[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.

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

June 1 — and dramatically reduced buyout — arrives for Bill Belichick - NBC Sports

"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?"

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

What should I be looking for when trying out running shoes? Local store lets me try the shoe and jog up and down the block, but they mostly feel the same to me. Is there some feeling or anything else specific I should be looking for?

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

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

Whatever.

Does eating mushrooms cause skin breakouts?