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?

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:

… 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?"

Just sitting at home with this huge cock. Who can take care of it for me?

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Whatever.

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

Why is it that women are stronger than men nowadays?

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

There you go.^†

[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.

Ana de Armas Is a Battle-Weary Ballerina - Jacobin

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

You can have your cake and eat it too

Whatever.

Your Brain Wrinkles Are Way More Important Than We Ever Realized - ScienceAlert

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

When he's standing, in front of you

Is there any kind of mold that might be good for your skin?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games lays off "small group of valued staff" - Eurogamer

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

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

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

Liam Coen: I think Trevor Lawrence’s footwork has drastically improved - NBC Sports

[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?"

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

Important scientific finding confirms ancient biblical events - The Brighter Side of News

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

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.

(Mumbles of assent)

Do you think Harris will win thanks to Taylor Swift and the Swifties?