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?

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

"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?"

Why doesn't speeding significantly decrease one’s commute time? I've done a lot of road trips and driving and have experimented by increasing speed by 10–20%, but somehow this never equates to arriving 20% sooner, even on clear roads.

[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.

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

Whatever.

Hubble reveals 20-year time-lapse of Uranus' changing atmosphere - TechSpot

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

"People don't even like him": Musk becomes GOP pariah after "ridiculous" Trump attacks - Axios

Whatever.

[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."

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

Rory McIlroy had three words for USGA official when asked to speak with media at US Open - Golfmagic

"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?

You can have your cake and eat it too

Apple’s Music app in iOS 26 gains my favorite feature from the Mac - 9to5Mac

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

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.

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

Kristopher Mohamed needs help to fund cancer fight - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

When he's standing, in front of you

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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:

Prediction: This "Magnificent Seven" Growth Stock Will Hit an All-Time in June. Here's Why It's Worth Buying Now. - The Motley Fool

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

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

(Mumbles of assent)

Here's One Reason To Buy A Lucid Air Over A Tesla Or Rivian - InsideEVs

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

There you go.^†

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Why is the United States urging restraint from Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah?