Meanings
- The cynical observation that no scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer.
1 more example
Thus Hempel's paradox, later indeed popularized by Hempel, is a nice example of Stigler's law: nothing is named after its inventor. It^([sic]) worth noting that according to Stigler's testimony, Stigler's law is also an example of Stigler's law, being invented by the sociologist Robert K. Merton (Stigler 1980).
2020, Ferenc Csatári, Measurement and Meaning, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 83
Origin
Proposed in 1980 by statistics professor Stephen Stigler (born 1941).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Stigler's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stigler's%20law
“Stigler's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stigler's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Stigler's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Stigler's%20law.
Source: Stigler's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.