Ortega hypothesis

Ortega hypothesis suggesting that history is made by anonymous masses rather than by the eminent few is called after Jose Ortega y Gasset (1932/1957:110-111) who wrote:

It is necessary to insist upon the extraordinary but undeniable fact: experimental sciences has progressed thanks to great part to the work of men astoundingly mediocre, and even less than mediocre. This is to say, modern science, the root and symbol of our actual civilization, finds a place for the intellectually commonplace man and allows him to work therein with success.

However, this egalitarian view is not supported by the facts. The Price's law according to which a small percentage of scientists accounts for most of the contributions applies to science and as well as to any other domain of creativity.