The impact of the impact factor

As a new journal yet unbranded by an impact factor (IF), we can address this important element of science without suffering either the anguish of those journals that languor in the lower divisions or the insouciance of those with double digit IFs. This number, as abstract as it is, has become the pervasive arbiter of scientific careers for those who apply for positions and fellowships. Just as The New York Times theatre critic has become the one...