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?

(Mumbles of assent)

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

There you go.^†

The dancing monk: Why mature people don’t chase total control - Big Think

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

[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."

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

Harvey Weinstein Accuser Kaja Sokola: ‘The Devastating Part Was Not the Trial Itself — It Was the Betrayal of My Sister’ - Variety

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

Whatever.

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

What are some lesser-known ingredients in skincare products that provide significant benefits?

"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?"

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:

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

This Chinese Spacecraft Is Traveling to One of Earth’s Quasi-Moons - WIRED

… 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?"

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

Pokémon Fan Loses "20 Years Worth Of Data" After Performing Switch 2 Transfer - Nintendo Life

You can have your cake and eat it too

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

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

Astronomers discover most powerful cosmic explosions since the Big Bang - Live Science

[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.

Whatever.

Why cant I add weight to my lifts even though im completing my sets? Every time I try to add more weight I cant even complete one rep.

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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.

A runway under construction at Newark's beleaguered airport reopens early - NPR

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

When he's standing, in front of you

Her Estranged Mother Caused Her Years Of Pain, So When Her Mother Reached Out About A Kidney Transplant, She’s Left With A Difficult Choice - TwistedSifter