The promise of peer review

It is ironic that, in an era known for the great speed and availability of information - where we could choose to blog our results rather than submit them to journals - publishing papers seems slower and more painful than I believe in the value of peer review, of having research articles vetted by experts who understand both the techniques involved and the scientific issues, who know what's been done, what's left to do, and what's important, and who can offer that judgment critically, honestly, and constructively. If you were taking a vote on whether to keep peer review a prerequisite for publishing research, I'd be one of those who raised not one hand, but two. When I was a member of the Literature Selection Technical Review Committee, the group that advises the National Library of Medicine regarding what