[strikelaserclaw]

it is impossible for most scientists to understand / critically think about all the research coming out from so many institutions, so most of these academics mainly focus on research coming from someone they respect / institutions they respect, so yes it is kind of like a popularity contest but i would argue that most things in life are due to the limited nature of the human brain we cannot think independently about everything for ourselves and rely on external judgements to what is important / true etc...

[rustymonday]

It is absolutely a popularity contest. The biggest problem is that many academics are reluctant to deviate too far from current consensus in fear of damaging their reputation.

The result is that research in many fields tends to stagnate and reinforce old ideas, regardless of whether they are right or wrong.