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“Why you arguing with what science says?” Every time I hear this I respond “Science says nothing. Only scientist.” What I find amusing is that people arguing

“Why you arguing with what science says?” Every time I hear this I respond “Science says nothing. Only scientist.” What I find amusing is that people arguing for something want to metabolize sweeping generalizations. If social science teaches you anything, it’s that sweeping generalizations are a poor framework for understanding anything.

deleted 3y ago
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vacuity 3y ago
> “Science says nothing. Only scientist.” That's a great way of putting it. I'm ashamed that I only recently realized it during a discussion about science and religion with my friends. I defined science along the lines of "best-effort iteration on making a hypothesis, collecting data, and evaluating the hypothesis". And that's without considering the human factor, whether it's confirmation bias, thirst for fame, or some other weakness. That's not to say that science is worthless; on the contrary, it embodies our capability to rationalize our universe. It's unfortunate that so many people think that understanding science means listening to the mainstream consensus of scientists, without critically evaluating their own values, assumptions, and the limitations or outright flaws of the studies. Nuance shouldn't be overlooked and mistaken conclusions should be addressed.
- germandiago 3y ago
  Many people do not have a background strong enough to analyze papers. Most. Even many of us, depending on the topic, not either. People are more driven by belief than anything else. I try not to as much as possible, but I humbly believe I am at least able to detect one thing: when things do not match each other and there are cracks and contradictions. However, many people do not care to get informed beyond a basic article without any research (not even a paper) and will still fiercely support their positions. That is why I think people have more of belief and emotion than rationality when it is about highly politicized topics.
hirundo 3y ago
> If social science teaches you anything, it’s that sweeping generalizations are a poor framework for understanding anything. Here are some sweeping generalizations that seem to be helpful: E = mc^2 a^2 = b^2 + c^2 F = ma

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

vacuity 3y ago

> “Science says nothing. Only scientist.” That's a great way of putting it. I'm ashamed that I only recently realized it during a discussion about science and religion with my friends. I defined science along the lines of "best-effort iteration on making a hypothesis, collecting data, and evaluating the hypothesis". And that's without considering the human factor, whether it's confirmation bias, thirst for fame, or some other weakness. That's not to say that science is worthless; on the contrary, it embodies our capability to rationalize our universe. It's unfortunate that so many people think that understanding science means listening to the mainstream consensus of scientists, without critically evaluating their own values, assumptions, and the limitations or outright flaws of the studies. Nuance shouldn't be overlooked and mistaken conclusions should be addressed.

germandiago 3y ago
Many people do not have a background strong enough to analyze papers. Most. Even many of us, depending on the topic, not either. People are more driven by belief than anything else. I try not to as much as possible, but I humbly believe I am at least able to detect one thing: when things do not match each other and there are cracks and contradictions. However, many people do not care to get informed beyond a basic article without any research (not even a paper) and will still fiercely support their positions. That is why I think people have more of belief and emotion than rationality when it is about highly politicized topics.

hirundo 3y ago

> If social science teaches you anything, it’s that sweeping generalizations are a poor framework for understanding anything. Here are some sweeping generalizations that seem to be helpful: E = mc^2 a^2 = b^2 + c^2 F = ma