A couple comments... 1) The social scientists tend to make heavier use of Econometrics, which tends to hold less water the mathematics used by Physicists. [0]

A couple comments... 1) The social scientists tend to make heavier use of Econometrics, which tends to hold less water the mathematics used by Physicists. [0] [1] [2] This doesn't mean that Econometrics should never be used, just that the tools are tougher. 2) In social sciences, people react to the existence of studies. (Example: Once a paper shows a market inefficiency - frequently it goes away. This could be because it wasn't a real anomoly, or it could be that people trade away the efficiencies) 3) Physics isn't beyond reproach either. To quote Max Planck, "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." (I've also heard this as "Physics advances one funeral at a time.") [0] http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/mythsofmurder.htm http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/mythsofmurder.htm [1] http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11691.pdf http://www.nber.org/chapters/c11691.pdf [2] http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1613&context=llr http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=16...