There’s a reason repeatability is a key component of actual science.
Even the most bog-standard experiment could have noise, an anomaly, or instrument error.
Amusing how the social interactions of sapient hominids, something that’s /extremely/ complex seems to be among the most lacking in rigor and basic repeatability.
Forty years ago, I was mentored by a fairly famous (in a provincial way) psychology prof who had known Margaret Mead when she was young. Boy howdy, he had some stories.
While you’re tossing slings and arrows at the research done for social sciences please tell me which physical science has the handicap of dealing with objects that have free will and can and do act and react based on the aggregate of their experiences over their entire existence and how they process and internalize those experiences.
Yeah, there are some bad actors and plenty of people trying to grind axes in social sciences. But there are some people trying to use established scientific methods and techniques to bring some knowledge to their field.
Besides, the “hard” sciences haven’t exactly covered themselves with glory recently. Think AGW, many medical/nutrition recommendations/policies based on little to none to clearly done with bias research, etc. The list is long and notorious.
Full disclosure, by BS (yeah, chuckle 🙂 is in Interpersonal Communication, but my work is computer science.
I find it useful to replace the word “social” with “socialist” when it comes to education or government, e.g. Socialist Security, Socialist Science, Socialist Services, et al. That puts it in the right perspective. No point in walking around confused.
“”
While you’re tossing slings and arrows at the research done for social sciences please tell me which physical science has the handicap of dealing with objects that have free will and can and do act and react based on the aggregate of their experiences over their entire existence and how they process and internalize those experiences.
“”
Umm… if *anything* doesn’t that mean that the social sciences should have *more* rigor? And take their conclusions with an even more skeptical eye?
And as for medical/nutrition. Huh… studies on complex human systems that are lacking in repeatability of testing. Sounds a bit familiar…
Oh and AGW. Well that’s a field with *no* empirical experimentation and only one temporal dataset.
Why it’s like scientific studies that are deficient in repeatable experimentation are deficient in rigorous conclusions.
August 31st, 2015 at 1:21 pm
Yup .. Social Science is driven by Political Science , and it’s not even science .
August 31st, 2015 at 3:00 pm
There’s a reason repeatability is a key component of actual science.
Even the most bog-standard experiment could have noise, an anomaly, or instrument error.
Amusing how the social interactions of sapient hominids, something that’s /extremely/ complex seems to be among the most lacking in rigor and basic repeatability.
August 31st, 2015 at 7:04 pm
Not just social science, sadly.
August 31st, 2015 at 9:26 pm
Forty years ago, I was mentored by a fairly famous (in a provincial way) psychology prof who had known Margaret Mead when she was young. Boy howdy, he had some stories.
August 31st, 2015 at 11:50 pm
While you’re tossing slings and arrows at the research done for social sciences please tell me which physical science has the handicap of dealing with objects that have free will and can and do act and react based on the aggregate of their experiences over their entire existence and how they process and internalize those experiences.
Yeah, there are some bad actors and plenty of people trying to grind axes in social sciences. But there are some people trying to use established scientific methods and techniques to bring some knowledge to their field.
Besides, the “hard” sciences haven’t exactly covered themselves with glory recently. Think AGW, many medical/nutrition recommendations/policies based on little to none to clearly done with bias research, etc. The list is long and notorious.
Full disclosure, by BS (yeah, chuckle 🙂 is in Interpersonal Communication, but my work is computer science.
September 1st, 2015 at 3:35 am
“…JUST A NICE WAY OF SAYING MADE-UP SHIT?”
Yes.
I find it useful to replace the word “social” with “socialist” when it comes to education or government, e.g. Socialist Security, Socialist Science, Socialist Services, et al. That puts it in the right perspective. No point in walking around confused.
September 1st, 2015 at 8:06 am
“”
While you’re tossing slings and arrows at the research done for social sciences please tell me which physical science has the handicap of dealing with objects that have free will and can and do act and react based on the aggregate of their experiences over their entire existence and how they process and internalize those experiences.
“”
Umm… if *anything* doesn’t that mean that the social sciences should have *more* rigor? And take their conclusions with an even more skeptical eye?
And as for medical/nutrition. Huh… studies on complex human systems that are lacking in repeatability of testing. Sounds a bit familiar…
Oh and AGW. Well that’s a field with *no* empirical experimentation and only one temporal dataset.
Why it’s like scientific studies that are deficient in repeatable experimentation are deficient in rigorous conclusions.