Stigler's Law of Eponymy
Origin
Stephen Stigler's 1980 paper. The Gaussian distribution was first discovered by de Moivre (1734), not Gauss. The Pythagorean theorem predates Pythagoras in Babylon. Halley's Comet was not discovered by Halley — he only calculated its period. Stigler knew his law was self-exemplifying — Robert K. Merton had pointed out the same pattern in 1957. A self-referential law.
Meaning
A deep truth of scientific history: new ideas are not made by one person. Many reach them at the same time (Merton's "multiple discoveries"). Whose name attaches is not the essence of discovery but social recognition. Applies equally to Korean hanja etymology — not one's discovery but everyone's accumulation.
Lesson — Meeting Eastern Classics
Analects 14.30: "A gentleman worries about his own inadequacy, not that others do not know him." Confucius taught the weight of ability over the weight of name. Stigler showed statistically where name separates from ability.
"譽" combines together (與) with speech (言) — what people say together, reputation. Analects 3.7: "A gentleman does not contend." One who does not fight for 譽 is truly a gentleman. Stigler taught that 譽 floats free of discovery.
