Talent vs Luck: the role of randomness in success and failure. Having a middle name a definite plus

A. Pluchino, A. E. Biondo and A. Rapisarda have studied this and it might look good for you to hit it big. Firstly though, you might want to do a quick scan of some of the findings so far.

Make sure your initials are alphabetically in an advantageous position. Having the luxury of a middle name is definitely a big plus. I do, btw. Difficult to pronounce last names like Featherstonhaugh will pose a stumbling block on your path to a career. Females with masculine monikers are more successful in legal careers. Do you live in the right place?

In particular, it has been shown that scientists have the same chance along their career of publishing their biggest hit [11]; that those with earlier surname initials are significantly more likely to receive tenure at top departments [12]; that one’s position in an alphabetically sorted list may be important in determining access to over-subscribed public services [13]; that middle name initials enhance evaluations of intellectual performance [14]; that people with easy-to-pronounce names are judged more positively than those with difficult-to-pronounce names [15]; that individuals with noble-sounding surnames are found to work more often as managers than as employees [16]; that females with masculine monikers are more successful in legal careers [17]; that roughly half of the variance in incomes across persons worldwide is explained only by their country of residence and by the income distribution within that country [18]; that the probability of becoming a CEO is strongly influenced by your name or by your month of birth [19, 20, 21]; and that even the probability of developing a cancer, maybe cutting a brilliant career, is mainly due to simple bad luck [22].

That thing called serendipity should not be discounted. Always interesting when Nasim Taleb is mentioned.

Full Pdf here