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:

When he's standing, in front of you

"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?"

Trump administration’s deep cuts to public health leave system reeling - PBS

[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.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

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

Secret leprosy infected the Americas before European arrival - DW

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

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

Why do people immediately disregard subjects such as flat earth, without opening their minds/taking time to research?

There you go.^†

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

Have you ever accidentally seen your mother-in-law doing something that was private to her?

Whatever.

[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."

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

What is an easy way to get your driver's license?

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

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

Why do people smoke?

Whatever.

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

(Mumbles of assent)

‘The Studio’ and ‘Hacks’ Are Two of the Best Shows Ever About Hollywood — But Are They Too Inside or PTSD-Inducing? - Variety

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.

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?"

What is a good tool for product analytics besides Google Analytics?

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

United Switches Off Starlink Internet on Regional Jets After Static Problem - WSJ