Hot streaks in artistic, cultural, and scientific careers

The hot streak—loosely defined as ‘winning begets more winnings’—highlights a specific period during which an individual’s performance is substantially better than his or her typical performance. Although hot streaks have been widely debated in sports1,2, gambling3–5 and financial markets6,7 over the past several decades, little is known about whether they apply to individual careers. Here, building on rich literature on the lifecycle of...