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?"

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

Whatever.

Why are Democrats deflecting and aren’t as tough on Hunter Biden with all of his criminal activity and his rising possibility of him receiving a charge for illegally owing a gun?

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

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

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Horoscope for Saturday, June 14, 2025 - Chicago Sun-Times

(Mumbles of assent)

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

"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 is the meanest thing your husband has said to you?

You can have your cake and eat it too

[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.

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

Man Buys $70,000 Ford After Dealership 'Played With the Numbers' for Him. 2 Years Later, He's Speaking Out - Motor1.com

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

There you go.^†

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

ChatGPT outage shows just how many people are using AI at work - MarketWatch

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:

Whatever.

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

WWE Money in the Bank results: Powell's review of John Cena and Logan Paul vs. Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes, two MITB ladder matches, Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch for the Women's Intercontinental Title - Pro Wrestling Dot Net

[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."

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

Do you think there will ever be peace in the Middle East as long as Israel exists?

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

When he's standing, in front of you

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Vitamin D: The best time to soak up sunlight without hurting your skin - Times of India

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

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

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.

Devil’s Third director says panned Wii U game was innovative for its time - Nintendo Everything