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Notes -
On respect
Recently, my wife attended an online lecture organised by her professor and held by an acclaimed researcher, on the topic of augmented and virtual reality. She is part of the (social) psychology department. The lecture was late in the day - 18:00 - so we all listened to it at home while at the dinner table (though we eventually turned on the TV for our daughter so she doesn't get bored).
Fellow academics might already guess were this is leading - we thought the topic was something interesting about how AR/VR can be used, unexpected challenges, etc.. It featured a small part of this, but a large part was about gender norms and how totally inexplicably people continue to behave the same way in VR as they do in RL, down to minute details such as the way they move, despite now finally having the freedom to shed their skin!
Clearly, this is evidence of the insidiousness of their oppression: They have internalised it so much that they can't even process the possibilities. It ended on a hopeful note however, that when we educate people better, all differences may eventually stop existing and people can be free in the VR.
But this is also just background for what I want to talk about: What struck me was the experience. In my field, genomics, genetic disease risk factors, etc., if I make a talk only about possible biological explanations, you can be sure that someone in the audience will ask "did you control for [social/environmental risk factor]?" If I'm advising a PhD student on a study design with a big data set like UKBB, I'll tell them to control for a long list of social/environmental risk factors. If the database has sparse information on this account, I mention it as a limitation. Even internally, I think this is important, this isn't something I only do because I'm challenged.
In other words, I genuinely respect social explanations.
Contrast this talk: The possibility of biological differences between sexes/genders isn't even mentioned. Nobody in the audience challenges that glaring oversight. My wife agreed that this is how it works in the department in general; If her colleagues talk about their social research, and my wife mentions the possibility of biological explanations, people look at her as if she just pissed on the ground. At most a hushed agreement, sure, maybe, it's a possibility, to get it over with. Needless to say, since she worked in the neurology department beforehand, she has to hold her breath quite often. She wanted to make a comment on it during the talk, but there are smarter ways to make enemies. She asked something anodyne instead, to show interest, make a good impression.
There is this idea that social sciences are not well respected among other scientists. I claim it is the other way around: The social scientists actively try to ignore other fields, insulate themselves and include non-social explanations only if pressed (which they are rarely), and grudgingly.
They do not respect any science except their own.
Also, assume I wrote some boring hedging about "not all social scientists" etc. I guess you could claim that this is just "boo outgroup", and I admit part of the reason this was written is me venting, but I think it might be an important observation: What does respect for a field mean? People may talk shit about social scientists, but in general they agree that the field is important to study. They're just unhappy with the way it is done.
Well, yeah. The vast majority of social scientists are actually just activists who use their profession to push their political agenda forward. This wasn’t always the case, but the trend has always been there and it’s accelerated to the point that these departments are completely taken over, and quite frankly need to be burned to the ground before any real science can once again take place
I’d say “citation needed,” but I can’t tell if there’s a testable claim to support.
Give me an example of one of the “real” scientists from the good ‘ol days, maybe?
If you can’t see what’s blindingly obvious I see this “umm source please?” as nothing more than rhetorical
It’s not.
I don’t believe you can give me any statistics about “the vast majority of social scientists,” which is why you set up a nice motte and bailey. Rather than lay siege, I asked you to back up your other point: that “this wasn’t always the case.” So tell me, when was the last “real” social scientist?
You clearly don’t read Scott’s own writings I guess
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/criticism-of-criticism-of-criticism
Take a look at what the best and brightest of psychiatrists conference write about for their conferences. Endless woke activist slop. And it’s like this at every single social sciencey conference too, including economics.
I don’t feel like doing research for someone who isn’t interested in asking honest questions though so go ahead and find your own sources
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