It is as the inventor of catastrophe theory that Thom is best known but his earlier work had made him well known before he worked on catastrophe theory.
Ito ay gaya ang manlilikha ng malaking sakuna theory na Thom ay pinakamahusay na kilala ngunit ang kanyang mas maaga sa trabaho ay may ginawa siya kilala ng mabuti bago siya nagtrabaho sa malaking sakuna theory.