To evaluate stuff like this, you just need basic physics knowledge (enough to do dimensional analysis with) and estimation skills. One fun read along these line

To evaluate stuff like this, you just need basic physics knowledge (enough to do dimensional analysis with) and estimation skills. One fun read along these lines is "The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering". For stuff like the bad social science you mentioned, often you can catch it if you know basic statistics along with the common tricks people use to p-hack. See, for example, "The garden of forking paths" by Gelman. Even if the statistical analysis is not given explicitly, or the issue is more subtle, for social science that touches on everyday life, you can usually tell if it'll hold up just with common sense. Try yourself using this quiz: https://80000hours.org/psychology-replication-quiz/ https://80000hours.org/psychology-replication-quiz/