My faith in the people's wisdom is restored: GSS respondents were asked how scientific is the discipline of sociology. I display the answers below, along with attitudes toward biology for the sake of comparison.
Percent saying sociology is scientific
Very scientific 8.6
Pretty scientific 43.8
Not too scientific 30.3
Not scientific 9.1
Haven't heard of it 8.2
Percent saying biology is scientific
Very scientific 71.7
Pretty scientific 24.6
Not too scientific 2.1
Not scientific 0.8
Haven't heard of it 0.8
I am so pleased to learn that only 9% of people think a discipline that believes that behavior is 100% environmentally produced is "very scientific." Yes, you might find an odd sociologist who accepts that genes and biology matter, but sociology did not convince of him of that.
And I am also tickled to learn that 8 percent of people haven't even heard of sociology! Were it 80%!
Are gun owners mentally ill?
Some anti-gun people think owning a gun is a sign of some kind of mental abnormality. According to General Social Survey data, gun owners ...
what! what amazes me is that .8% of people havent heard of biology...
ReplyDeletethey must live inside a basement or something!
they probably know it as sociology :)
ReplyDeleteIf biology stared macro and worked down to micro, it would engage young males much much more than what it does.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had a biology class back in high school, I wanted to get a presentation of the skeletal structure, where the organs were and what they do, how the heart pumped blood and lymphatics worked, etc. I wanted to know what an "anterior cruciate ligament" was and why so many of my favorite running backs had to quit because they injured it.
What did I get? On the first day, "This is a cell, this is a protazoa, this is an ameoba, these are mitochondria" and a bunch of amorphousized little glob-like drawings in a book that were "icky" and boring as all get out to my male mind. I think guys would be interested in these essential things (as I know now) if they were drawn in by what they could see at the get-go.
Its like teaching physics............and how a good physics professor will blow a few things up to really reel in the class (especially the guys) on why those clear fluids in those beakers are so damn cool. We need guys and gals to be interested in science, as physics and science are huge aggregate increasers of wealth and prosperity, not critical theorists and other assorted garbage.
My wife has a name for field like sociology - bullshit pseudosciences.
ReplyDeleteWe need guys and gals to be interested in science, as physics and science are huge aggregate increasers of wealth and prosperity, not critical theorists and other assorted garbage.
ReplyDeleteYes, but only for other people. Scientists make shit pay. So naturally people don't want to become scientists.
You know Kary Mullis? The dude got 10 grand--10 lousy grand--for inventing PCR!
ReplyDelete