--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In an ideal world, you might imagine that…" description: "\"In an ideal world, you might imagine that scientific papers were only cited by academics on the basis of their content. This might be true. But lots of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/ben-goldacre-9578_academics_in-an-ideal-world-you-might-imagine-that_1253576.jpg" --- # In an ideal world, you might imagine that scientific… ![“In an ideal world, you might imagine that scientific papers were only cited by academics on the basis of their content. This might be true. But lots of other stuff can have an influence.” quote by Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/ben-goldacre-9578_academics_in-an-ideal-world-you-might-imagine-that_1253576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/ben-goldacre-9578_academics_in-an-ideal-world-you-might-imagine-that_1253576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/ben-goldacre-9578_academics_in-an-ideal-world-you-might-imagine-that_1253576.jpg) > “In an ideal world, you might imagine that scientific papers were only cited by academics on the basis of their content. This might be true. But lots of other stuff can have an influence.” [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Citation practices are influenced by factors beyond content, like prestige and bias. **In simple terms:** Citations are not purely merit‑based. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate sources. Themes science bias citation Mood critical skeptical Type analytical educational When to use this quote - research evaluation - grant funding - literature review Key Concepts academic culture social influence Questions to Reflect On - What non‑content factors affect your citations? - How can we reduce bias in scholarly referencing? A Different Perspective May undervalue groundbreaking work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academics/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Ideal world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-world/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The true test of any scholar's work is not what his contemporaries say, but what happens to his work in the next 25 or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-true-test-of-any-scholar-s-work-is-not-what-his-contemporaries-3/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [My complaint is that there are more books and news articles than there are primary scientific papers. I am probably the biggest critic of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-venter/my-complaint-is-that-there-are-more-books-and-news-articles-than/) [Craig Venter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-venter/) > [Over the past fifty years or so, scientists have allowed the conventions of expression available to them to become entirely too confining, too confining.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mermin/over-the-past-fifty-years-or-so-scientists-have-allowed-the-2/) [David Mermin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mermin/) > [Of course, relative citation frequencies are no measure of relative importance. Who has not aspired to write a paper so fundamental that very soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/of-course-relative-citation-frequencies-are-no-measure-of-relative/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [More academics should blog, post videos, post audio, post lectures, offer articles and more. You'll enjoy it: I've had threats and blackmail, abuse, smears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/more-academics-should-blog-post-videos-post-audio-post-lectures-offer/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [If there's one thing that 'No Child Left Behind' has proven, it's that more academics don't make for smarter children - or even higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/if-there-s-one-thing-that-no-child-left-behind-has-proven-it-s-that/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [At home, our focus has always been academics and playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-kaushal/at-home-our-focus-has-always-been-academics-and-playing/) [Vicky Kaushal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-kaushal/) > [“The lives of scientists, considered as Lives, almost always make dull reading. For one thing, the careers of the famous and the merely ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-medawar/the-lives-of-scientists-considered-as-lives-almost-always-make-dull/) Peter B. Medawar > [“I think her favorite thing about our . . . collaboration was her actor and musician friends rubbing shoulders with my academic colleagues, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-think-her-favorite-thing-about-our-collaboration-was-her-actor-and/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I excelled in my academics. But, I also was a cheerleader and I ran track.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rubi-rose/i-excelled-in-my-academics-but-i-also-was-a-cheerleader-and-i-ran/) [Rubi Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rubi-rose/) > [Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. To write something that delivers an argument and a gripping storyline to someone's granny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/anyone-can-write-an-academic-piece-directed-at-other-academics-to/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“Knowledge was scattered treasure, education organized it into art, commerce and science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/knowledge-was-scattered-treasure-education-organized-it-into-art/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Academics are not necessarily nice people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/academics-are-not-necessarily-nice-people/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“The Nazis had been one thing. The communists were another. But now there were academics crawling all over the palace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/the-nazis-had-been-one-thing-the-communists-were-another-but-now/) [Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) ## More by Ben Goldacre > [In general, drug companies are reasonably good at developing new treatments, and there's also a lot of good in the industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/in-general-drug-companies-are-reasonably-good-at-developing-new/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [Amazing things happen when you pull individual pieces of information together into larger linked datasets: meaning emerges, as you produce facts from figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/amazing-things-happen-when-you-pull-individual-pieces-of-information/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“Aside from all this, for several of the most important and enduring problems in medicine, we have no idea what the best treatment is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/aside-from-all-this-for-several-of-the-most-important-and-enduring/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“At school you were taught about chemicals in test tubes, equations to describe motion, and maybe something on photosynthesis—about which more later—but in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/at-school-you-were-taught-about-chemicals-in-test-tubes-equations-to/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [ And if, by the end \[of this book\], you reckon you might still disagree with me, then I offer you this: you'll still be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/and-if-by-the-end-of-this-book-you-reckon-you-might-still-disagree/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/i-think-you-ll-find-it-s-a-bit-more-complicated-than-that/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“Today, scientists and doctors find themselves outnumbered and outgunned by vast armies of individuals who feel entitled to pass judgment on matters of evidence—an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/today-scientists-and-doctors-find-themselves-outnumbered-and/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [I hope that you will be asked to participate in a trial at some stage in your disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/i-hope-that-you-will-be-asked-to-participate-in-a-trial-at-some-stage/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [Most bloggers have no institutional credibility, and so they must build it, by linking transparently, and allowing you to easily double check their work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/most-bloggers-have-no-institutional-credibility-and-so-they-must/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“The American Academy of Pediatrics officially supports breastfeeding, but receives about half a million dollars from Ross, manufacturers of Similac infant formula.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/the-american-academy-of-pediatrics-officially-supports-breastfeeding/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“More than that, these adverts sell a dubious world view. They sell the idea that science is not about the delicate relationship between evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/more-than-that-these-adverts-sell-a-dubious-world-view-they-sell-the/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“At school you were taught about chemicals in test tubes, equations to describe motion, and maybe something on photosynthesis – about which more later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/at-school-you-were-taught-about-chemicals-in-test-tubes-equations-to-2/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“My basic hypothesis is this: the people who run the media are Humanities graduates with little understanding of science, who wear their ignorance as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/my-basic-hypothesis-is-this-the-people-who-run-the-media-are/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [“The current regulations -- for companies, doctors and researchers -- create perverse incentives; and we'll have better luck fixing those broken systems than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/the-current-regulations-for-companies-doctors-and-researchers-create/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [Doctors and patients need as much data as possible to make an informed decision about what treatment is best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/doctors-and-patients-need-as-much-data-as-possible-to-make-an/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) [Explore all 71 Ben Goldacre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) ## More Academics quotes > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) > [“The Nazis had been one thing. The communists were another. But now there were academics crawling all over the palace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/the-nazis-had-been-one-thing-the-communists-were-another-but-now/) [Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/) > [Academics are not necessarily nice people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/academics-are-not-necessarily-nice-people/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Knowledge was scattered treasure, education organized it into art, commerce and science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/knowledge-was-scattered-treasure-education-organized-it-into-art/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. To write something that delivers an argument and a gripping storyline to someone's granny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/anyone-can-write-an-academic-piece-directed-at-other-academics-to/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [I excelled in my academics. But, I also was a cheerleader and I ran track.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rubi-rose/i-excelled-in-my-academics-but-i-also-was-a-cheerleader-and-i-ran/) [Rubi Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rubi-rose/) > [“I think her favorite thing about our . . . collaboration was her actor and musician friends rubbing shoulders with my academic colleagues, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-think-her-favorite-thing-about-our-collaboration-was-her-actor-and/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“The lives of scientists, considered as Lives, almost always make dull reading. For one thing, the careers of the famous and the merely ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-medawar/the-lives-of-scientists-considered-as-lives-almost-always-make-dull/) Peter B. Medawar > [At home, our focus has always been academics and playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-kaushal/at-home-our-focus-has-always-been-academics-and-playing/) [Vicky Kaushal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-kaushal/) > [If there's one thing that 'No Child Left Behind' has proven, it's that more academics don't make for smarter children - or even higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/if-there-s-one-thing-that-no-child-left-behind-has-proven-it-s-that/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [“Just as no monkey is as good-looking as the ugliest of humans, no academic is worthier than the worst of the creators”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/just-as-no-monkey-is-as-good-looking-as-the-ugliest-of-humans-no/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I've always been the type that's more about academics and technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-baldwin/i-ve-always-been-the-type-that-s-more-about-academics-and-technology/) [Doug Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-baldwin/) > [We academics - I am an academic - we love complexity. You can write papers about complexity, and the nice thing about complexity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-m-whitesides/we-academics-i-am-an-academic-we-love-complexity-you-can-write-papers/) [George M. Whitesides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-m-whitesides/) > [“There have always been ignorant people, but they haven't always had college degrees to make them unaware of their ignorance. Some people imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-have-always-been-ignorant-people-but-they-haven-t-always-had/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“... I succeeded at math, at least by the usual evaluation criteria: grades. Yet while I might have earned top marks in geometry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ouellette/i-succeeded-at-math-at-least-by-the-usual-evaluation-criteria-grades/) Jennifer Ouellette [Browse all 86 Academics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In an ideal world, you might imagine that scientific papers were only cited by academics on the basis of their content. This might be true. 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