Modern scholars face a very difficult problem of dealing with a huge number of scholarly literature they have to use in their work. On the one hand, they ought to make original points and arguments but on the other hand, they have to know and refer to other sources. But “the other sources” are so enormous that one risks to spend whole his or her life studying fellow colleagues’ articles and books. I remember once my own article was turned down by a journal whose referee had found that I didn’t mention one particular work. Well, I even didn’t know the name of that author.
Anyway, two trend of a current scholarship – narrow specialization and interdisciplinary studies are complicating the situation. Now a scholar has to go deep down in his or her area of research but at the same time to know the literature and trends in some other fields of study. And after spending many years a scholar might suddenly learn that somebody already made the point he or she was hoping to make. And then the road begins again. A tragedy? Oh, yes, for someone, at least. But a fascination also, for someone else.
Alisher Faizullaev 