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?

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

My 11 million SEK, Dr Jo.

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

James Webb telescope spots 'groundbreaking' molecule in scorching clouds of giant 'hell planet' - Live Science

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?"

Whatever.

What caused the decline of the Soprano crew?

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

There you go.^†

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

10 Amazing Games To Buy Before Xbox's Deals Unlocked 2025 Sale Ends - Pure Xbox

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.

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

You can have your cake and eat it too

Two University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researchers part of global team that discovered a new object in space - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"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?

[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.

How do people move on so quickly? I’m still sprung over someone I was dating and he found someone else so fast. I feel hurt because I’m still head over heels over him while he’s out enjoying his life with someone new

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

"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?"

(Mumbles of assent)

Will Trump's tariffs harm the USA?

[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."

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:

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

What would you change in the "Game of Thrones" storyline if you were one of the writers of the TV series?

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

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

When he's standing, in front of you

Geologists Reveal World’s Biggest Iron Deposit Worth $6 Trillion Set to Impact Global Economy - The Daily Galaxy

Whatever.

(Bob Dylan, Nobel Prize for Literature, 2016)

^† They rationalise their decision thusly:

That whole wheat bread you've been eating is often a trap - it's not what you think it is - Earth.com