FEATURE ARTICLE
The Shadow Effect and the Case of Félix Tisserand
The most eminent astronomer who never came to popular attention was lost in the shadow of his countryman, Pierre-Simon Laplace
William McLaughlin, Sylvia Miller
In 1968 the sociologist Robert K. Merton coined the term "Matthew Effect" to describe a phenomenon in which famous scientists acquire further recognition and support simply because they are famous. The Matthew effect is recognized as having a profound effect on the practice of science, and not all of it to the good. McLaughlin and Miller describe another phenomenon in the culture of science-called the "shadow effect"—in which the historical reputation of a scientist is obscured by that of another scientist, of greater reputation, doing closely related work. The authors zero in on the case of the 19th-century French astronomer Félix Tisserand, who has been eclipsed by his countryman, the mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace.
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