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?

[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."

"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?"

You can have your cake and eat it too

Why do older men like to get anal sex?

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

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.

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

What are the potential benefits of going without clothes at home for a few days without any specific reason?

Whatever.

There you go.^†

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

Even Captain James T. Kirk was trapped in a woman's body. Don't you think he'd support trans people?

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:

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Whatever.

Were knights’ lances practical weapons, or were they just for sports?

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

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

What is the most heartbreaking thing your child has told you?

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

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

(Mumbles of assent)

Why are FtM trans just another type of woman?

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Have you ever had a weird experience immediately following the death of a loved one that made you think there is an afterlife and that the deceased person was communicating with you?

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

When he's standing, in front of you

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

Why do I feel worthless most of the time?

[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.

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

Is 1500 calories enough for a 5’3 15-year-old who is non-active?