The h-index and its discontents

In a post to the OACI working group list, Peter Suber noted that the science index Scopus has begun to use Jorge Hirsch's "h-index" to supplement its other measurements of author impact. The h-index is a number calculated from the number of articles
an author has published at high citation levels.

http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=35680&CategoryID=17
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_number

In a simple demonstration of the weakness of such all-in-one numerical metrics, Eberhard Hilf of the Institute for Science Networking Oldenburg GmbH pointed out that physicist PW Higgs has a miniscule Hirsch Index of only 9, despite his having
predicted the famous Higgs boson. The existence of this massive particle would resolve some of the deepest uncertainties associated with elementary particle physics, which is why the physics community has spent millions of dollars building and
designing particle accelerators to find it.

Yet another case for more nuanced recognition metrics than a list of names with numbers next to them.

jon