Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Discussion: More Realism in the Matter of Predicting Molecules?

When the above-mentioned Essay by R. Hoffmann, P. v. R. Schleyer and H. F. Schaefer III hit the editor's desk, it was clear that the decision was not going to be an easy one. The manuscript was certainly thought-provoking and, obviously, well written. In essence, the authors appeal to their fellow scientists to present their data in a fashion suitable for the intended audience. For example, it should be clear as to what kind of stability is meant when they write about stable compounds. But is it suitable for Angewandte Chemie? Or rather for a more general magazine-type journal, or a membership newsletter?

At the end of the day, and after much discussion with the authors, referees, and the Chairman of the Editorial Board, we decided to publish the manuscript along with the referees' comments and to invite even more comments from the readers. So, if you have thoughts on this issue, whether brief or detailed, please e-mail them to us at angewandte@wiley-vch.de, and we will post them here.

Appeal

• R. Hoffmann, P. v. R. Schleyer, H. F. Schaefer III
  Predicting Molecules—More Realism, Please!

Referee Reports

• M. Bickelhaupt
  Attractive and Convincing
• G. Frenking
  No Important Suggestions
• W. Koch
  Excellent, Valuable, and Entertaining
• M. Reiher
  Important for the Definition of Terminology in Computational Chemistry

These contributions will be published in issue 38/2008 of Angewandte Chemie.

Reader Comments

Most recent first...

• S. Shaik
  So many appeals... consider one more
  September 23, 2008
• L. Radom
  How Viable Is It to Prove Viability?
  August 12, 2008
• K. N. Houk
  Different Strokes for Different Folks
  August 05, 2008
• H. Zipse
  Very Important Paper or Very Important Person?
  August 05, 2008
• O. Eisenstein
  Computational Chemistry: Playing Darts?
  August 04, 2008
• G. J. Hutchings
  Refreshing Debate
  August 01, 2008