The scholarly record does not need a chain

A futuristic vision: technology is over-sophisticated, and the masses devote themselves to intellectual pursuits, while the basic needs of society are neglected. Coloured etching by W. Heath, 1828. Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0. The article was once a useful fiction. It let us pretend that the work of science could be gathered into a single object. A question, a method, some data, an argument,…