I have no idea why it's so meritorious. I know people who are published, and don't even know what the paper their name is on is about, both at the outset and tw

I have no idea why it's so meritorious. I know people who are published, and don't even know what the paper their name is on is about, both at the outset and twilight of academic careers. I also know a guy who published preliminary results and musings on his blog, and was then refused publication because it was "unoriginal". Journal editors seem to not be familiar with the subject matter either, given what does and doesn't get published - why only ever positive results? Unless scientific publication changes completely science as we know it will die. It is already becoming vanity, egoism, orthodoxy. Why publish? So you can get better pay later in the private sector.