Peerless ideas

Stevan Harnad compares peer review to the "ragtag" generic panel (Letters, 4 January).

Wikipedia is the most massively peer-reviewed publication in the history of publication, and every single article stands or falls on the basis that a majority have read, understood and these days checked the references.

Publishing has changed. "Open publishing" (like "open-source" software) allows review and revision by anybody who takes an interest. No longer is there a need for a central committee, just a large enough set of interested "eyeballs".

Gordon Joly,
London E14.