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?

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

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

"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?"

After 600 Years, Astronomers Finally Solve the Mystery of the Missing ‘Guest Star’ - Gizmodo

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)

Whatever.

Is there scientific evidence for reincarnation? If so, how does it work and can it be proven through regression therapy?

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

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

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

James Webb Space Telescope unveils fiery origins of a distant, hellish exoplanet - Space

There you go.^†

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

Who are the actual "science deniers": people who wait until vaccines are proven effective, or people who believe that there are more than two genders?

When he's standing, in front of you

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

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

Do you agree that firearms are the most common weapon used in homicides of spouses, intimate partners, children or relatives? Should this data influence gun control policies?

Whatever.

Why wait any longer for the world to begin?

(Mumbles of assent)

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

"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).

Can you explain the difference between God and atma according to the Bhagavad-Gita?

[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.

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

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

What are your controversial and hot takes on Naruto?

[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 one you love?

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.

Are democrats eating crow?