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> I'm finding it very hard to criticise the methodology of this sort of study without channeling Feynman and being extremely rude and dismissive to a whole fiel
by DoofusOfDeath 7y ago
> I'm finding it very hard to criticise the methodology of this sort of study without channeling Feynman and being extremely rude and dismissive to a whole field of research.
Can you elaborate on the Feynman thing? I haven't heard anything about that before.
- ThrowawayR2 7y agoProbably refers to the "Uncle Sam Doesn't Need You!" chapter in "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", in which Feynman is given a psychiatric evaluation as part of the medical exam for the draft. Anecdotally, he came away with an even lower opinion of psychiatry (rightly or wrongly) than he had when he went in.
- pmoriarty 7y agoI seem to recall Feynman having a similar attitude towards philosophy. It's really sad and disapopinting to see that sort of close-minded attitude come from such a talented person towards entire fields he knows nearly nothing about.
- Gibbon1 7y agoA point to make is mid 20th century psychiatry and philosophy were hot garbage.
- pmoriarty 7y agoThat's a matter of opinion, one which I personally disagree with, though I am not a fan of some of the philosophy and psychology of the 20th Century. Furthermore, philosophy extends back thousands of years and spans across many societies and cultures. To dismiss all of it in a handwavy way from a position of ignorance, as Feynman did, speaks of nothing but narrow-minded bigotry.
- YeGoblynQueenne 7y agoSorry, I should never have brought Feynman up because it could really cause offense. I edited the bit about him out of my comment.
- DoofusOfDeath 7y agoDo you just mean that mentioning his viewpoint was overly harsh in this discussion? I've only heard him mentioned in a positive light until now.
- YeGoblynQueenne 7y agoI mean that what I had in mind was rather inflammatory and it was my mistake to refer to it even obliquely.