Defining and identifying Sleeping Beauties in science #MMPMID26015563
Ke Q; Ferrara E; Radicchi F; Flammini A
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015[Jun]; 112 (24): 7426-31 PMID26015563show ga
Scientific papers typically have a finite lifetime: their rate to attract citations achieves its maximum a few years after publication, and then steadily declines. Previous studies pointed out the existence of a few blatant exceptions: papers whose relevance has not been recognized for decades, but then suddenly become highly influential and cited. The Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen ?paradox? paper is an exemplar Sleeping Beauty. We study how common Sleeping Beauties are in science. We introduce a quantity that captures both the recognition intensity and the duration of the ?sleeping? period, and show that Sleeping Beauties are far from exceptional. The distribution of such quantity is continuous and has power-law behavior, suggesting a common mechanism behind delayed but intense recognition at all scales.