Are physicists afraid of mathematics?
A recent study claimed that heavy use of equations impedes communication among biologists, as measured by the ability to attract citations from peers. It was suggested that to increase the probability of being cited one should reduce the density of equations in papers, that equations should be moved...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2015-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/17/1/013036 |
| _version_ | 1797751205943836672 |
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| author | Jonathan E Kollmer Thorsten Pöschel Jason A C Gallas |
| author_facet | Jonathan E Kollmer Thorsten Pöschel Jason A C Gallas |
| author_sort | Jonathan E Kollmer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A recent study claimed that heavy use of equations impedes communication among biologists, as measured by the ability to attract citations from peers. It was suggested that to increase the probability of being cited one should reduce the density of equations in papers, that equations should be moved to appendices, and that math training among biologists should be improved. Here, we report a detailed study of the citation habits among physicists, a community that has traditionally strong training and dependence on mathematical formulations. Is it possible to correlate statistical citation patterns and fear of mathematics in a community whose work strongly depends on equations? By performing a systematic analysis of the citation counts of papers published in one of the leading journals in physics covering all its disciplines, we find striking similarities with distribution of citations recorded in biological sciences. However, based on the standard deviations in citation data of both communities, biologists and physicists, we argue that trends in statistical indicators are not reliable to unambiguously blame mathematics for the existence or lack of citations. We digress briefly about other statistical trends that apparently would also enhance citation success. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:45:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-05bdd12490dd42329b777989e4b0ddf4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1367-2630 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:45:09Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Journal of Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-05bdd12490dd42329b777989e4b0ddf42023-08-08T14:15:56ZengIOP PublishingNew Journal of Physics1367-26302015-01-0117101303610.1088/1367-2630/17/1/013036Are physicists afraid of mathematics?Jonathan E Kollmer0Thorsten Pöschel1Jason A C Gallas2Institute for Multiscale Simulations, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität , Erlangen, Germany; Max-Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, GermanyInstitute for Multiscale Simulations, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität , Erlangen, Germany; Max-Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany; Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal da Paraíba , João Pessoa, BrazilInstitute for Multiscale Simulations, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität , Erlangen, Germany; Max-Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany; Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal da Paraíba , João Pessoa, Brazil; Instituto de Altos Estudos da Paraíba, Rua Infante Dom Henrique 100-1801, 58039-150 João Pessoa, BrazilA recent study claimed that heavy use of equations impedes communication among biologists, as measured by the ability to attract citations from peers. It was suggested that to increase the probability of being cited one should reduce the density of equations in papers, that equations should be moved to appendices, and that math training among biologists should be improved. Here, we report a detailed study of the citation habits among physicists, a community that has traditionally strong training and dependence on mathematical formulations. Is it possible to correlate statistical citation patterns and fear of mathematics in a community whose work strongly depends on equations? By performing a systematic analysis of the citation counts of papers published in one of the leading journals in physics covering all its disciplines, we find striking similarities with distribution of citations recorded in biological sciences. However, based on the standard deviations in citation data of both communities, biologists and physicists, we argue that trends in statistical indicators are not reliable to unambiguously blame mathematics for the existence or lack of citations. We digress briefly about other statistical trends that apparently would also enhance citation success.https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/17/1/013036social physicscitation strategiesscience communication |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan E Kollmer Thorsten Pöschel Jason A C Gallas Are physicists afraid of mathematics? New Journal of Physics social physics citation strategies science communication |
| title | Are physicists afraid of mathematics? |
| title_full | Are physicists afraid of mathematics? |
| title_fullStr | Are physicists afraid of mathematics? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are physicists afraid of mathematics? |
| title_short | Are physicists afraid of mathematics? |
| title_sort | are physicists afraid of mathematics |
| topic | social physics citation strategies science communication |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/17/1/013036 |
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