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?

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

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

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

I've tried to write a Kindle eBook and have published it on Amazon. But the thing is that I haven't made any sales yet even though I published it nearly 6 months ago. How do I get people to purchase it?

There you go.^†

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.

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

Orioles Reinstate Colton Cowser From 60-Day IL, Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment - MLB Trade Rumors

Whatever.

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

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

Top Cardiovascular Researcher Sounds Alarm Over Current Heart Health Guidelines - SciTechDaily

When he's standing, in front of you

Whatever.

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

PS5 shooter goes from 5 players to bestseller after devs defend game - Polygon

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

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

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

Disney to pay almost $439 million to take full control of streaming service Hulu - AP News

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

[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."

[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.

‘The View’ Hosts Divided Over Patti LuPone Apology: ‘I Just Was Raised Differently, Clearly’ - TheWrap

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

(Mumbles of assent)

Why wait any longer for the one you love?

What's the importance of promotion in marketing?

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:

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

You can have your cake and eat it too

Scientists Stunned by Evidence of Ancient Birds Nested in the Arctic - The Daily Galaxy

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

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

"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?"

The Genetic Mystery of Why Cats Purr May Finally Be Solved - ScienceAlert