Matthew Effect

From the old verse: to him who has, more will be given; from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As sociology, it is depressingly accurate. The famous scientist gets credit for the team's discovery; the rich child's small advantage compounds into a large one; the popular book is bought because it is bought.

The engine is accumulation. Early advantage attracts the next advantage — attention, funding, opportunity — and each layer makes the next more likely. Success is not a sum; it is a spiral. So is failure.

Two lessons, one for each side of the spiral. If you are climbing: the first small win matters more than it looks, because it is seed capital for the spiral — chase the achievable early victory and bank it visibly.

And if you hold power — teacher, manager, parent, editor — remember that you are standing on the spiral's controls. Your attention is capital. Spend some of it deliberately on those the spiral has overlooked. Talent is common. It is the compounding that is rationed.