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?

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

A Cosmic Tech Mystery Results in Literal Lost Souls in This Sci-Fi Short Story - Gizmodo

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

Scientists Calculate That the Entire Big Bang Must Have Taken Place Inside a Black Hole - futurism.com

Whatever.

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

[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.

Jerome Powell’s Exit Leaves The Fed On An Uncertain Path - Seeking Alpha

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:

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

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

Stopping alcoholism gets smarter with smartwatches - The Brighter Side of News

"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.

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

What does it mean to dream about demons possessing people, and what can be done about this dream that keeps occurring for years?

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

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

(Mumbles of assent)

Experts are certain, the next major volcanic eruption will cause climate chaos. - Farmingdale Observer

When he's standing, in front of you

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.

There you go.^†

Buried for 16 Million Years, Scientists Unearth a Prehistoric Spider So Big, It Might Have Stalked Dinosaurs - Indian Defence Review

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

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

How can I fall asleep fast at night?

Whatever.

[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."

LeBron James’ message for Caitlin Clark after dominant return from injury - New York Post