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?

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

[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."

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.

When an Air India flight crashed into a medical campus, surviving doctors rushed to save lives - Politico

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

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

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

Young researcher’s ALS attack plan is now a no-go - Harvard Gazette

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

[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.

When he's standing, in front of you

Kristin Davis Set The Record Straight On Whether She Dated Chris Noth - BuzzFeed

Whatever.

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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:

What can I do after 18 cops raided my home, without a warrant, seeking a person who didn't live there and wasn't there, and also went through all of my stuff? The person wasn't on the lease, and they didn't see him enter.

You can have your cake and eat it too

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

How do legitimate BPO companies find and secure clients without using social media?

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

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

"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?"

Gastroenterologist shares 5 early warning signs of poor liver health: From loss of appetite to dark patches on face - Hindustan Times

There you go.^†

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

It is common sense that Joe Biden is ruining America and is unfit to be president, but why are the liberals still supporting him when Trump is obviously a much better fit for office?

Whatever.

(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."

Northern Lights Alert: Auroras Set to Illuminate the Skies Across 18 U.S. States This Weekend - The Daily Galaxy

(Mumbles of assent)

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

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

The heaviest proton emitter: New type of atomic nucleus discovered - Phys.org