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?

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:

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

David Ortiz rips Rafael Devers — ‘You disrespected yourself’ - MassLive

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

There you go.^†

You can have your cake and eat it too

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom And Breath Of The Wild Updates Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes - Nintendo Life

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

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

"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?"

Is there anything wrong with me because I'm still single?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

Whatever.

Why Lane Johnson believes he can be better than ever at 35 years old - NBC Sports Philadelphia

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

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

Nintendo releases more Switch 1 game updates to improve Switch 2 compatibility - Nintendo Everything

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

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

(Mumbles of assent)

Michaels completes acquisition of Joann’s intellectual property and fan-favorite labels - Boston.com

Whatever.

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

When he's standing, in front of you

Do people of NYC drive around Central Park all the time? Is there any subway tunnel to cross the park quickly? Is it annoying for people and does it cause traffic?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

[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.

[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."

Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 2, Reds 0 – May 31, 2025 - Bleacher Nation

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.

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

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

What explanations do flat earthers have for the shape of our planet? If they do not have any, why should their opinions on this topic be considered credible?