August 23, 2007
Introducing 'Fantasy Journals'
The remarkable popularity of fantasy sports leagues have long been the stuff of head-scratching bewilderment to those who don't quite feel that enthusiastic about professional sports.
Well, Carl T. Bergstrom, an associate professor of biology at the University of Washington, has an idea that might be more enticing to some of you. In a short paper [PDF] posted to his Web site, Bergstrom proposes creating the rules and Web infrastructure for a game of ”fantasy journals.”
"Players can select papers from across a field or even from across all of science for their own 'fantasy journal,' and then see how that journal performs according to the appropriate bibliometric measures." (He suggests some function of the number of citations on Google Scholar after a period of time.)
He has already found an early champion of the idea in Tyler Cowen.
Evan Goldstein | Posted on Thursday August 23, 2007 | PermalinkComments
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Not only am I left in the cold by fantasy sports, I’m even more amazed by this idea. There must be better ways to waste time and energy.
— Al Aug 23, 02:58 PM #
Why not just contribute to an existing journal, or do the real work of publishing one if you feel a need is going a fulfilled? I think this is an attempt to cut one’s research time à la Huck Finn.
— Desire Aug 23, 03:33 PM #
Why not just contribute to an existing journal, or do the real work of publishing one if you feel a need is going unfulfilled? I think this is an attempt to cut one’s research time à la Huck Finn.
— Desire Aug 23, 03:37 PM #
You know, when I think of Fantasy Journal, I think of Penthouse Forum. How disappointed to learn what it really was.
— marci Aug 23, 04:30 PM #
And they wonder why the academic stereotype sticks…
— Flook Aug 24, 07:17 AM #