For Nature Methods’ 20th anniversary, our current and past editors reminisce about their favorite papers, initiatives and projects at the journal. Just about every paper that crossed my desk at Nature Methods has a story that goes with it. I find it excruciatingly difficult to single out just one. So, in the spirit of following the editorial gut instinct — which it’s wise to trust, but never in a vacuum and not too much — I’ll tell you about the paper that comes to mind first.