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?

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

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

[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."

Circle IPO soars, giving hope to more startups waiting to go public - TechCrunch

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

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

Does a person with schizophrenia hear voices?

There you go.^†

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Why do people hate Nickelback so much? What makes them different from other popular bands like Linkin Park, Green Day, etc.? Is it just because they're Canadian or what?

"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?"

When he's standing, in front of you

Whatever.

Orioles Reinstate Colton Cowser From 60-Day IL, Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment - MLB Trade Rumors

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

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

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

After 600 Years, Astronomers Finally Solve the Mystery of the Missing ‘Guest Star’ - Gizmodo

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

What's the gayest thing you have experienced on an only boys sleepover?

"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.

Whatever.

Why does it seem that Quora's "moderators" base their moderations on personal beliefs and views by deleting answers that are only violating their personal feelings?

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.

You can have your cake and eat it too

(Mumbles of assent)

Catch Jupiter and Mercury side by side in the evening sky this week - Space

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

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

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

What is the reason for the high rate of unmarried individuals in America, particularly among males?