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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

"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?"

Why aren't U.S. prisons more like Marine Corps boot camp, were every second of the day there are mandatory activities so that at night everyone is so tired they go to sleep until wakeup at 5:30 am? Would this make prisons safer for all?

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."

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

With Opella proceeds burning a hole in its pocket, Sanofi snaps up Blueprint for $9.1B - Fierce Pharma

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.

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

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

(Mumbles of assent)

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

[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 is the most peculiar thing about the human brain?

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

There you go.^†

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:

On Virgin , Lorde has never been less certain or more alive - AV Club

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Two Galaxy Clusters Are on a Collision Course, NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory Reveals - The Daily Galaxy

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

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Whatever.

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

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

When he's standing, in front of you

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

Bryce Elder gets rocked, Braves lose to Phillies - Battery Power

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

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

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

What’s a historical event you wish more people talked about?