Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level?
We study the inequality of citations received for different publications of various researchers and Nobel laureates in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Economics using Google Scholar data from 2012 to 2024. Citation distributions are found to be highly unequal, with even greater disparity among Nobe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Entropy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/5/495 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849711492343005184 |
|---|---|
| author | Soumyajyoti Biswas Bikas K. Chakrabarti Asim Ghosh Sourav Ghosh Máté Józsa Zoltán Néda |
| author_facet | Soumyajyoti Biswas Bikas K. Chakrabarti Asim Ghosh Sourav Ghosh Máté Józsa Zoltán Néda |
| author_sort | Soumyajyoti Biswas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We study the inequality of citations received for different publications of various researchers and Nobel laureates in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Economics using Google Scholar data from 2012 to 2024. Citation distributions are found to be highly unequal, with even greater disparity among Nobel laureates. Measures of inequality, such as the Gini and Kolkata indices, emerge as useful indicators for distinguishing Nobel laureates from others. Such high inequality corresponds to growing critical fluctuations, suggesting that excellence aligns with an imminent (self-organized dynamical) critical point. Additionally, Nobel laureates exhibit systematically lower values of the Tsallis–Pareto parameter <i>b</i> and Shannon entropy, indicating more structured citation distributions. We also analyze the inequality in Olympic medal tallies across countries and find similar levels of disparity. Our results suggest that inequality measures can serve as proxies for competitiveness and excellence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-60d2e0daa41f48b1b495611f7a18be65 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1099-4300 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Entropy |
| spelling | doaj-art-60d2e0daa41f48b1b495611f7a18be652025-08-20T03:14:36ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002025-05-0127549510.3390/e27050495Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level?Soumyajyoti Biswas0Bikas K. Chakrabarti1Asim Ghosh2Sourav Ghosh3Máté Józsa4Zoltán Néda5Department of Physics, SRM University-AP, Amaravati 522240, IndiaSaha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata 700064, IndiaDepartment of Physics, Raghunathpur College, Raghunathpur, Purulia 723133, IndiaDepartment of Physics, SRM University-AP, Amaravati 522240, IndiaDeptartment of Physics, Babeş-Bolyai University, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDeptartment of Physics, Babeş-Bolyai University, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaWe study the inequality of citations received for different publications of various researchers and Nobel laureates in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Economics using Google Scholar data from 2012 to 2024. Citation distributions are found to be highly unequal, with even greater disparity among Nobel laureates. Measures of inequality, such as the Gini and Kolkata indices, emerge as useful indicators for distinguishing Nobel laureates from others. Such high inequality corresponds to growing critical fluctuations, suggesting that excellence aligns with an imminent (self-organized dynamical) critical point. Additionally, Nobel laureates exhibit systematically lower values of the Tsallis–Pareto parameter <i>b</i> and Shannon entropy, indicating more structured citation distributions. We also analyze the inequality in Olympic medal tallies across countries and find similar levels of disparity. Our results suggest that inequality measures can serve as proxies for competitiveness and excellence.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/5/495citation datainequality indicesLorenz curveGini indexKolkata index |
| spellingShingle | Soumyajyoti Biswas Bikas K. Chakrabarti Asim Ghosh Sourav Ghosh Máté Józsa Zoltán Néda Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level? Entropy citation data inequality indices Lorenz curve Gini index Kolkata index |
| title | Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level? |
| title_full | Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level? |
| title_fullStr | Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level? |
| title_short | Does Excellence Correspond to Universal Inequality Level? |
| title_sort | does excellence correspond to universal inequality level |
| topic | citation data inequality indices Lorenz curve Gini index Kolkata index |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/5/495 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT soumyajyotibiswas doesexcellencecorrespondtouniversalinequalitylevel AT bikaskchakrabarti doesexcellencecorrespondtouniversalinequalitylevel AT asimghosh doesexcellencecorrespondtouniversalinequalitylevel AT souravghosh doesexcellencecorrespondtouniversalinequalitylevel AT matejozsa doesexcellencecorrespondtouniversalinequalitylevel AT zoltanneda doesexcellencecorrespondtouniversalinequalitylevel |