Fermat’s Library is a service that allows members to upload papers and annotate them to provide some of the context around research articles, through annotation and discussion. The website creators talk about the importance of understanding the backstory to a lot of academic research.
For example, in the image below you can see a summary of Richard Feynman’s Value of Science paper, along with points worth highlighting in the text. You can respond to comments left by others as part of a longer discussion, if you’d like.
I haven’t spent much time browsing papers yet but it feels like the emergent emphasis is on older articles that are more philosophical in nature. I say ’emergent’ because don’t appear to be any top-down conditions dictating what to upload and yet most articles I noticed were older, and ‘philosophical’ because the ones that stood out to me are the ones that ask questions rather than try to provide answers.
I learned about Fermat’s Library from the Lex Fridman podcast (which may be my new favourite podcast, by the way). The episode on Fermat’s Library talks about the platform itself, as well as the reason it exists, and problems with scientific publication in its current form, including the challenges of determining research impact.
This looks like a brilliant service and I’m excited to spend more time browsing papers on the site.