Medical researchers—and scientists in general—place a high value on their ability to make independent judgments. Yet the same group often seeks metrics to validate their subjective opinions. One could argue that as rationalists, scientists should have little use for subjectivity, opinions should be supported by verifiable data, and the subjective view of a paper's worth should not be a consideration in editorial decisions about which papers to publish. In reality, however, given the sheer volume of papers published each day, the subjective value of a paper's “worth” is an accepted criterion in scientific publication as no individual could possibly read all papers published in their own field without some guidance as to their likely importance.