《圣经》“马太福音”中的话:“凡有的,还要加给他,叫他有余;凡没有的,连他所有的,也要夺去。”描述了一种现象:在一定条件下,优势或劣势一旦出现,就会不断加剧,滚动累积,出现强烈反差,两极分化,强者越强,弱者越弱。这种现象,被称之为马太效应,或者叫马太效应法则(Matthew Law:Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance;Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him)。这种现象,普遍存在于自然和社会各个领域。