> If you cite a paper in Science that carries with it a knowledge that some clever people have looked over it and can't see any obvious issues with the work. If you cite a napkin sketch that doesn't carry that weight and pushes the onus on to the reader to verify the cited claim themselves.
I think no matter the source, you (as the author) have the final responsibility of citing correct work. You can (reasonably) choose to only cite nature because it is "safer" choice, but you can also cite other sources though you should of course take care to vet that source well yourself. As you point out, a lot of shit makes it into journals and in fact many journals are themselves shit (and outright frauds) so adding arxiv as a source doesn't really fundamentally change anything.
As a side note, I believe that many papers cite way _too_ many papers. Unless you use or expand upon a paper's work, I think you shouldn't be citing it (except possibly as general background knowledge). I just can't understand how you can write a paper that's explicitly doing so with 100 previous works (a book sure, but not a paper). Then again, my citation philosophy goes against many others (including my former advisor). Many think you should cite basically anything tangentially related (especially the works of the academic king makers). For me this is no longer important since I no longer am an academic researcher. I have the freedom to pontificate on the subject without any worries of having a career. :)
I think no matter the source, you (as the author) have the final responsibility of citing correct work. You can (reasonably) choose to only cite nature because it is "safer" choice, but you can also cite other sources though you should of course take care to vet that source well yourself. As you point out, a lot of shit makes it into journals and in fact many journals are themselves shit (and outright frauds) so adding arxiv as a source doesn't really fundamentally change anything.
As a side note, I believe that many papers cite way _too_ many papers. Unless you use or expand upon a paper's work, I think you shouldn't be citing it (except possibly as general background knowledge). I just can't understand how you can write a paper that's explicitly doing so with 100 previous works (a book sure, but not a paper). Then again, my citation philosophy goes against many others (including my former advisor). Many think you should cite basically anything tangentially related (especially the works of the academic king makers). For me this is no longer important since I no longer am an academic researcher. I have the freedom to pontificate on the subject without any worries of having a career. :)