I felt like the Nobel prizewinner connection to the hobby or avocation of "writing" (which was among the strongest of the effects seen) has a very simple explan

I felt like the Nobel prizewinner connection to the hobby or avocation of "writing" (which was among the strongest of the effects seen) has a very simple explanation: when you win a Nobel, you get lots of invitations to write opinion articles. In other words, causality can run the other way -- the prize causes the writing to assume greater importance. The process by which a discipline selects a standard-bearer to represent it in newspaper op-ed articles, TV interviews, plenary lectures, and future-of-the-discipline commissions is complex, but it is all wrapped up in prizes and seniority.