In the Biblical parable in Matthew 25:14-29, a servant who was given five talents of money invested them and returned ten talents, whereas a servant given one talent buried it in the ground without profit. The master gave the risk-averse servants one talent to his successful rival. The effect was elevated into a principle: "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away."rnSometimes named the 'Matthew Effect' marketers call this response 'cumulative advantage'. I think of it as the 'bestseller effect'. Every author and publisher knows that once a book gets a head-start in sales it signals to consumers that other people want that book, causing them to desire it and purchase more, so the richest authors get even richer.
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