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)

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

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

6 Daily Habits Doctors Say Will Help You Live Longer - SELF Magazine

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

[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.

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

Does the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom diagnose rare conditions? If so, does it provide treatment for them as well?

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

"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'?"

What is the meaning behind people claiming to hear voices of God in their heads without anyone else hearing them? Is this a sign of mental illness or possession by an evil spirit?

"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?"

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

Whatever.

Are narcissists happy people generally?

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

Whatever.

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

South Korea’s opposition leader Lee wins election as voters punish conservatives after martial law chaos - CNN

There you go.^†

You can have your cake and eat it too

[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."

Mario Kart World tech analysis, including frame rate and resolution - Nintendo Everything

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

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:

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

What is the difference between the terms "Millennials" and "kids"?

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

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

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

Broadcom CEO On VMware Renewals, VCF Customers And Tomahawk 6 - CRN Magazine

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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.

BlackRock removed from Texas blacklist after climate policy rollback - Financial Times