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?

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

Do flat Earthers really exist? Why do they believe the Earth is flat?

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

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.

Does having the wrong address on my car insurance invalidate my policy?

Whatever.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

[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.

What shocking family behavior did you read about in India?

There you go.^†

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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:

What are the major security challenges facing India, both domestically and internationally, and how does the government address them?

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

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

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

My stepmother has banned me from the family. Can she legally keep me from going to my father's funeral?

[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."

(Mumbles of assent)

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

If atheists are so positive that there is no God, where is their proof that He does not exist?

"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?"

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

Humans have evolved and become hairless and odor free. How do other races learn about evolution since evolution does not apply to them?

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

When he's standing, in front of you

Why do men cheat on their wives with someone extremely unattractive?

Whatever.

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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