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?

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

If an abortion doesn’t affect you, why do people make it a big deal?

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

Whatever.

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.

Why are American women so ugly nowadays?

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

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

When he's standing, in front of you

Do you like high heels?

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

"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.

Is dating in college necessary? Why and why not?

(Mumbles of assent)

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

I’ve often wondered why fans aren’t deployed on GBBO during warm weather? I’ve seen too many desserts melt (and bakers too…). (I live in Pompano Beach and we try to use fans in lieu of AC as much as possible).

There you go.^†

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Whatever.

I want to touch my sister’s boobs. What do I say?

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

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

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Why is Trump so disliked worldwide?

"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:

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

How do you write lyrics for a song that resonates with listeners?

[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."

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:

"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?"

What does 'Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys’ mean (Ezekiel 23:20)?