Question

From what does the title "the matthew effect" get its name?

Answer 1

THE, “The Matthew Effect,” with a verse from the New Testament text of the Gospel of Matthew:

For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ~ Matthew 25:29

In other words: Those who succeed will find even more success. Those who don’t succeed will continue not to (to an even greater extent). It’s also known as the “self-fulfilling prophecy.” This “Matthew Effect” was first coined by sociologist Robert Merton. And to illustrate the point, Gladwell uses the example of the Canadian hockey system for training young athletes. Because of the standard January 1st cut-off date for registrations, anyone with a birthday soon after this day essentially gets an extra year to practice. For this reason, most successful professional hockey players happen to be born in the months of January, February, and March. Certainly, these athletes also have talent. But they also had the advantage of extra practice and development time, merely because of the chance-like circumstances of their birth.