# Robert K. Merton Up: [[Thomas Sowell]] · [[Post Analysis - brivael on Why Musk Is Under Attack (2026-10-24)|post analysis]] (row 4) - American sociologist of science (1910–2003) ◻. In "Singletons and Multiples in Scientific Discovery" (1961) he argued that independent multiple discoveries are the normal pattern, and single discoveries the exception ◻. - He built on Ogburn & Thomas, "Are Inventions Inevitable?" (1922), which lists 148 independent duplicates ◻. - He also named the "Matthew effect" (1968): more credit goes to scientists who are already famous ◻. That is relevant to "great man" lists.