Eli5: Why didn’t Gilbert Luis, who was nominated for Nobel Prize 35 times win?
In: Biology
http://www.che.uc.edu/jensen/W.%20B.%20Jensen/Reprints/The%20Mystery%20of%20G.%20N.%20Lewis’%20Missing%20Nobel%20Prize.pdf
This article discusses the issue.
Just about anyone can be nominated. Some literature awards were given to books that sold a few hundred copies.
Like Susan Lucci, he was constantly good enough to be nominated but never the best. Yes, she got a Daytime Emmy eventually.
It’s insanely easy to get nominated for a Nobel Prize. The hard part is winning. For example, take the [Nobel Peace Prize.](https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/) Here are a few of the people who are qualified nominators:
> Members of national assemblies and national governments (cabinet members/ministers) of sovereign states as well as current heads of states
That means someone like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Ted Cruz can nominate anyone they want (except themselves).
> University professors, professors emeriti and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion; university rectors and university directors (or their equivalents); directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes
That means any associate professor of history, theology, religion, etc. can nominate anyone they want (except themselves).
So hypothetically, if you are best friends with an associate professor at your college, you can get them to nominate you for a Nobel Prize. If you get them to nominate you 35 times, you’d be a 35 time Nobel Prize nominee. The problem is that many other people are also nominated so it’s hard to break out of the pack.
I’m not sure about Gilbert Luis specifically, but usually what I said is the answer to why any given person was nominated but didn’t win. I mean, even Hitler was nominated. It doesn’t mean much.
Edit: Are you talking about [this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Luis_R._Centina_III) or [this guy?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_N._Lewis) If you are talking about Lewis, the Wikipedia article says he got into a fight with his former mentor Nernst (of the Nernst equation) and Nernst’s buddy on the Nobel Chemistry Committee blocked him from winning. I’ve never heard of the poet.
The probable thing was he was good in so many areas and influenced a lot of others but an individual achievement on its own wasn’t great enough for a Nobel prize.
It’s somewhat controversial and no one knows for sure, but one of the members of the committee was a buddy of one of his enemies and it’s believed that he blocked him from ever winning to help his friend get back at him.
It’s all just speculation, although there’s apparently some evidence pointing that way.
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