This is the 350th birthday of the Royal Society, which for all practical purposes, invented the foundation, the processes, still used today in scientific research, publishing and peer review.

Peer review? Glad you asked. When a researcher submits a paper to a journal for consideration, the editors of that journal send the paper out to scientists in that specialty—ones who have no conflicts of interest—for comment.  Simply, is it sound and worthy of publication in that journal? Outside comments are collected and then journal editors make their own decisions.

Imperfect? Yes.

Any process, however, which has with-stood the tests of three and one half centuries of challenges from scientists is a grand gift to mankind.

The Economist

“THE streets surrounding St James’s Palace in London are dotted with gentlemen’s clubs, many of which now also admit women. This year, one such establishment is marking its 350th anniversary. The club in question is not merely a meeting place for like-minded members, however: it is the society that founded modern science.

“The first fellows of the Royal Society, as it is now known, were followers of Sir Francis Bacon, a 17th-century statesman and philosopher who argued that knowledge could be gained by testing ideas through experiments. On a damp and murky night in November 1660, a dozen of them met to hear a lecture by a 28-year-old astronomer called Christopher Wren, who would later become the architect who designed St Paul’s Cathedral. Inspired, they determined to meet every week to discuss scientific matters and to witness experiments conducted by different members of the group. In so doing, they invented the processes on which modern science rests, including scientific publishing and peer review, and made English the primary language of scientific discourse.” (Emphasis added)

Source: The Economist, January 7, 2009