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?

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

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

(Mumbles of assent)

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

Do guys prefer big boobs or small boobs? Why?

When he's standing, in front of you

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:

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

A common calorie-free sweetener alters brain activity and appetite control, new research suggests - PsyPost

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

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

Whatever.

Why did Amazon initially deny leave of absence to Alexis Scott-Windham, the Amazon worker who survived the New Orleans terrorist attack?

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

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

There you go.^†

Why don't the 'West' realize that the solution to the conflict in the Middle East is to end the "unlimited" support for Israel, and finally listen to the grievances of Israel's neighbors for a 'change'?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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.

[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."

What does it mean when someone tells you they love you and want you in their life, but doesn't want to commit?

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

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

With massive funding round and $31 billion valuation, Anduril is nearing the size of defense industry giants it wants to displace - Fortune

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Whatever.

Switzerland proposes forcing UBS to add $26bn in capital - Financial Times

"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?"

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

[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.

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