[NullHypothesist]

> the opposing "Newton hypothesis", which says that scientific progress is mostly the work of a relatively small number of great scientists (after Isaac Newton's statement that he "stood on the shoulders of giants")

I guess the Ortega equivalent statement would be "I stood on top of a giant pile of tiny people"

...Not quite as majestic, but hey, if it gets the job done...

[antognini]

"If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants have been standing on my shoulders." --Hal Abelson

[otikik]

It's still giants. Giant accumulated effort from many individuals.