First Reviewer Report on Quantum Gravity in (But I Can’t See It Yet)

I’ve been keeping you updated on the fate of my sneaky theory on quantum gravity these past months (or even years by some counts). While for a moment I thought my manuscript had been accepted, I was soon brought to my senses when the submission tracking system said that the paper was only sent for peer review. Well, today the same tracking system said that the first report is in, only 12 days after the peer-reviewer accepted the assignment!

So, what did the reviewer say? I have no idea, and I’m not sure whether I’ll get to know anytime soon. You see, it’s highly uncommon for manuscripts to have just one reviewer. I would say that it’s more likely that the editor will still try to get more reviewers to accept to review the paper. The system says that four more people have been asked, but apparently, they haven’t accepted (or possibly even responded). Thus, it seems likely that the editor will ask more reviewers and get more than the one report before making their mind.

It is also possible that if the first reviewers report is sufficiently strongly either in favor, or in opposition, of the paper, there’s a small possibility that the editor will make their decision based on just one report. However, in this case the report should be very firmly grounded on prior publications for the editor to dare make the decision. In this case, according to ChatGPT:

• The reviewer’s report is very clear, detailed, and decisive, and

• The issues raised are fundamental (e.g. fatal methodological flaws, lack of novelty, or scope mismatch), or

• The editor independently agrees strongly with the reviewer after their own assessment.

Also in this case the it is more likely that the editor makes a final decision based on just one report is if the decision is negative. That is, a positive response requires at least two reviewers to support it.

This means that I should hope that I won’t be receiving an email from the editor just yet, because it will much more likely be a negative one. Whatever the outcome will be, I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I learn more.