&quot;science is a hilariously difficult area to become famous in&quot;<p>There&#x27;s fame, like Einstein had, and there&#x27;s fame like how everyone in your specific field knows who you are. For a comparison, there&#x27;s &quot;president of the United States&quot; but there&#x27;s also &quot;Mayor of Albuquerque&quot;.<p>The former is very hard to get. The latter, more common, and more achievable.<p>Here&#x27;s an example of how anonymity would hurt. A lot of pharmaceutical research is done in industry. While some of the research is kept proprietary, especially early on, other parts are published. It&#x27;s a lot of work to publish. It may include talking with company lawyers so that confidential information isn&#x27;t revealed. Why might someone go through this extra effort?<p>One factor, of course, is the altruistic goal of advancing science. Another factor is the more egocentric desire to finally be able to tell others - who are often friends - the cool things you&#x27;ve been working on. A third is the knowledge that layoffs come, and a paper is a form of advertisement for future employment.<p>The latter two disappear if all publications were anonymous.