Imagine your own work being held up to the light, audited by multiple people, the best in your field, with the goal of finding every possible mistake. It’s nerve-racking, but it’s critically important. Peer review is the best way we have to distinguish fact from myth, to minimize the very human inclination toward motivated reasoning (to see what we want to see) and confirmation bias (to see what we expect to see). Being published in a scientific journal is a way of confirming that you’ve done everything in your power to be intellectually honest. That you’re doing science right.
