Volunteering as a reviewer

Article information

Sci Ed. 2020;7(2):209-211

Publication date (electronic) : 2020 August 20

doi : https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.221

Beom Sun Chung, Min Suk Chung

Department of Anatomy, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea

Correspondence to Min Suk Chung dissect@ajou.ac.kr

Received 2020 February 19; Accepted 2020 March 23.

Another reason why I review articles is that it is an honor to do so. Only well-acknowledged scientists are given the opportunity to serve as reviewers. Therefore, scientists usually agree to review articles unless they have a specific reason not to do so. It is worthwhile even if the reviewers are not paid by the journal or appreciated by the authors of the articles.

Unlike what the fourth frame of the comic strip implies, it is not easy to earn money by publishing a comic book. In my case, I submitted a book proposal for my English comic book to major American publishing companies and it was rejected. Therefore, I partnered with a Korean publishing company and we published an English comic book. However, we have not had much success selling the book. Nonetheless, I have not given up and I keep on trying. The harder it is to succeed, the more I am motivated.

“All-or-none” is an important law in electrophysiology. Electrophysiologists explain this concept using example like flushing a toilet. This is where I got the idea for drawing this comic strip. The all-or-none law is found in many places around us. For an example, it is common in Korea that one person pays the entire bill after a group of people have lunch (or dinner) together.

The comic strips I draw may be low-quality, but I draw a lot of them, which makes them valuable. Not all comic strips can be funny. If 1 out of 3 is funny, it is not a bad batting average. The more I draw, the more possibilities I have for making my readers laugh. Sometimes quantity matters.

A scientist expects other scientists to read his or her articles. In order for this to happen, the title is very important as the first impression. One aspect of an attractive title is being neat and concise. It is like the sign of a store or the brand name of a company.