I think this is a much more interesting problem in the sciences than in literature. There is too much high literature for a scholar to read it all. So like ev

I think this is a much more interesting problem in the sciences than in literature. There is too much high literature for a scholar to read it all. So like everyone else, the scholars mostly read what makes the popular bandwagon by virtue of reaching a critical mass of interest. But in the sciences, people are writing about things that matter! The overlooked articles are missed progress. In literature, writers are writing to write. If masterieces go unnoticed in the avalanche of quotidian works...oh well? There are plenty of perfect wildflowers which go wholy unappreciated as well. Should we mourn the missed opportunity?