All projects: Gel, Jobs, Good Todo, Games, Uncle Mark, Blog, Bit Literacy
New research on academic publishing: the papers most likely to be published in academic journals are those that cover "hot" topics or make sensationalist claims. The only problem is that those popular papers tend to be inaccurate. Says the Economist, "the 'hotter' the field, the greater the competition is and the more likely it is that published research in top journals could be wrong."
So: if you want accuracy in your scientific papers (generally a good thing to shoot for), look for the papers that take a balanced approach - address something that's not trendy in the moment - don't make sensationalist claims - and generally aren't on the front cover of the journal. Score one for the hedgehogs.
Tragic. For all the good it could do, there's something very wrong with academic culture...
It's funny to hear of the academic world think in terms of "what's hot right now".
I guess they subject to the same human psychology as the rest of us.