Well, that's just silly.
Even people at elite levels in their own fields are notoriously poor at predicting the behavior and decision-making of the Nobel committee. EJ Corey reportedly (as in, I heard this anecdote from someone who witnessed this FIRSTHAND as a post-doc) held a spot above the mantel in his formal living room for his Nobel Prize. For years and years. It took over a decade for his greatness to be recognized alongside his rival Herbert Brown.
Which evidently
really rankled, incidentally. At least Corey didn't have to split the prize, which must have made for some really interesting discussions, don't you think? LOL.
Everyone in the sciences (and I don't know, but probably in other disciplines as well) understands that the vicissitudes of what is "trending" at a particular time dictate who wins and who doesn't as much as actual great contributions do. This is particularly true in fields where massive collaborative efforts are the norm-- the Nobel mostly goes to pairs and very small groups.
But yeah, way to set up completely unrealistic expectations for this obviously brilliant and very promising...
child. {sigh}
