So, what he's saying, if you have nothing else that shines on your resume - highlight your programming contest wins. After you have some more stuff under your belt (patents, project wins), than stop emphasizing the contests.

Indeed, what Norvig might be missing, is that the more methodical folks might also be contest winners but they chose not to highlight that because they don't think it's worth talking about compared to their other accomplishments.

You can only put so much on a resume.