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?

When he's standing, in front of you

[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.

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.

My scammer is blackmailing me. If I don't pay 300 euros, he will send my intimate photos to my relatives. What should I do?

Whatever.

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

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

Hunter Dobbins Has Last Laugh In War Of Words With Yankees - NESN

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

First glimpse of a charred scroll after two millennia thanks to AI and X-rays - Earth.com

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

"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?"

Tensions rise as Patrick slams Abbott’s veto of THC ban: ‘Legalizes marijuana in Texas’ - KHOU

[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."

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Win a free Steam Deck OLED, thanks to Nvidia - PCGamesN

(Mumbles of assent)

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:

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

Stock futures are little changed as investors await details on U.S.-China trade policy: Live updates - CNBC

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

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

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

What are some reasons for the widespread dislike of President Trump? In your opinion, has he been a good or bad president?

There you go.^†

Whatever.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

These U.S. States Have the Highest Rates of Dementia - Gizmodo

You can have your cake and eat it too

"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?"

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

Can you simply make an efficient DIY red light therapy mask at home using a plastic mask and red LED diodes attached inside? How good is that, or does a medical mask have its specifications?