It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.”

Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker

Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 1 “The Matthew Effect,” sec. 5 (2008)
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