Not true. The differences don't have to be that large. If one person consistently runs 0.1s faster than everyone else, they can win 100x the races of the next

Not true. The differences don't have to be that large. If one person consistently runs 0.1s faster than everyone else, they can win 100x the races of the next best person without being 100x better. Nobel prizes, like running races, are winner take all. The person in 100th place doesn't get any points proportional to how good their proposal is.