An uncited paper may contribute to science. Someone thinks of idea n. Idea n+1 comes along eventually, and its discoverer is likely to cite idea n.
But what triggers the discovery of n+1? If it were idea n itself, idea n+1 would occur immediately after n. Something must be responsible: a textbook, a newspaper headline. It may have been an uncited article.
Over the years I have read many more articles than I cited. The time spent on those I did not cite was not wasted. They taught me things that contributed to the science I did afterward.
Let uncited scientists read your piece to be comforted. They have done their part. They did the work and got it published. That is all they can do. They cannot force people to cite them.
CHARLES W. MCCUTCHEN
Bethesda, Md.
