Although there's a long history of attempts to make "social science" conform to the conventions and methodologies of "hard science", there's really no comparing the two. It's not that human psychology is inherently unscientific, or that there's no value in importing scientific concepts into the humanities, it's just that it's fundamentally different, and the way we view social science should be different, too.
Social science is: a) More complex. Not necessarily more difficult--put a bunch of physics grad students in a undergraduate sociology class and they'll probably all be fine, put a bunch of PhD psychologists in a physics lab and you've got a recipe for disaster--but the level of complexity inherent in just one human brain, not to mention entire societies, is mind-boggling. As such, most attempts to find the Natural Laws of human behavior have been abandoned in favor of heuristics. There are simply too many factors to consider. b) More inferential. There's relatively little that can be "deduced" in social science. c) Less predictable. Sure, your QM prof might go on about quantum uncertainty, but can he tell me how much his stocks will be worth tomorrow? d) Harder to falsify. I think this should be self-evident. Prove me wrong.
In any case, all science is corruptible (and I'll cite historical examples of science-gone-wrong if you want), but because of the difficulties in marrying the "social" to the "science", social science is *especially* corruptible. This has a lot to do with the agenda of the observer---there's no better standard by which to "prove" some sort of normative point than by attempting to justify it with science. Again, that's not to say that there's no value to it or that we should suspect every study of being tampered with by evil Machiavellian dwarves, but it's also naive to think that think-tanks don't bias their research.
DISCLAIMER: I know fuck-all about physics, so if you want to respond to this post with, "No, actually, in physics, we do this...", then by all means, enlighten me.
In my case, playing violent video games and watching violent movies as a kid has desensitized me to violence in such a way that I don't flinch from it.
I don't get that. Playing violent video games and watching violent movies as a kid desensitized me to fictional violence, but actual violence is a whole other story.
Dude, have you ever tried opiates? (I mean, in the socially-acceptable, medical way.) Adding acetaminophen to Vicodin is like adding vanilla extract to a bottle of tequila.
"find a company with an entry level programming position -- there are plenty of them around!"
Really? Where? 'Cause I've been looking.
NEED JAVA DEVELOPER Must have: - 5+ years development experience in professional environment with Java, J2EE, JSP, and JDBC - Professional experience with Oracle RDMS. - Intimate knowledge of EMS/SAP/WYSIWYG/BLAHBLAH/$WHAT_OUR_VENDOR_SELLS systems. - Previous experience working in $METHODOLOGY - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field.
Even if they are hiring entry-level programmers, nobody says they are. How does one get "5+ years professional experience with $WHATEVER" if there's no one hiring that says, "Look, we don't care if you've used whatever API, just so long as you can learn ours pretty quickly."
You know, you mostly hear that from people in Progressica, but I don't think they've really thought it through. After all, Redneckistan has all the nukes.
We are offering a choice of 11 different web browsers with new versions of Microsoft Windows, including:
Microsoft Browsers: Internet Explorer 6 Internet Explorer 7 Internet Explorer 8
Non-Microsoft Browsers: Lynx w3m Mosaic Safari (Macintosh only) Netscape Navigator 4.08 Image Xplorer Emacs The browser from the online tutorial code for beginning KDE programming
WARNING: If you choose any of the non-Microsoft browsers in the above list, please be aware that they are THIRD PARTY applications that are UNSUPPORTED by Microsoft Corp. Microsoft makes no guarantees as to the functionality or features of any non-Microsoft browser, and disclaims any responsibility for viruses or other malware that unsupported browsers may or may not contain.
No. Unfortunately, the Court refused to hear the case for lack of standing.
Interestingly, Mos Eisley does not have a criminal code, only a civil code. Han and Greedo's estate have settled the matter for an undisclosed sum, and have both launched a lawsuit against the Hutts for providing unsafe working conditions for both bounty hunters and their marks.
I don't get it. Could someone please explain this to me?
If they're trying to disguise their traffic to the command-and-control center, how does this help? If you get a lot of malformed requests from a particular host, then if you're an investigator, it's like the infected computers are advertising themselves as zombies. And if they're sending these requests to major web sites, how does this disguise the requests they're making to the (presumably non-major website) control center? Couldn't you just say, "Well, this computer made 300 malformed SSL requests to Facebook, Twitter, et cetera, and one malformed request to , let's find that guy!"
I really don't understand the people who say the moon landing was fake. Of course it was real! Remember all that alien technology NASA got from Area 51?
The latest patched version of Internet Explorer fixed the bugs that Microsoft found. The latest patched version of other browsers fixed the bugs that other browser-manufacturers found. Ergo, there is no evidence that the latest patched version of Internet Explorer are less secure, since the officially "known" security features have been fixed.
In fact, there's no evidence that there are any bugs at all in the latest patched versions of any software ever written, unless the manufacturers have explicitly stated that there are. In which case, in order for policymakers to accept such a report, they would need to prove that this is the case, by lobbying the government to the effect that their software is inferior.
Slashdot Mirror
Although there's a long history of attempts to make "social science" conform to the conventions and methodologies of "hard science", there's really no comparing the two. It's not that human psychology is inherently unscientific, or that there's no value in importing scientific concepts into the humanities, it's just that it's fundamentally different, and the way we view social science should be different, too.
Social science is:
a) More complex. Not necessarily more difficult--put a bunch of physics grad students in a undergraduate sociology class and they'll probably all be fine, put a bunch of PhD psychologists in a physics lab and you've got a recipe for disaster--but the level of complexity inherent in just one human brain, not to mention entire societies, is mind-boggling. As such, most attempts to find the Natural Laws of human behavior have been abandoned in favor of heuristics. There are simply too many factors to consider.
b) More inferential. There's relatively little that can be "deduced" in social science.
c) Less predictable. Sure, your QM prof might go on about quantum uncertainty, but can he tell me how much his stocks will be worth tomorrow?
d) Harder to falsify. I think this should be self-evident. Prove me wrong.
In any case, all science is corruptible (and I'll cite historical examples of science-gone-wrong if you want), but because of the difficulties in marrying the "social" to the "science", social science is *especially* corruptible. This has a lot to do with the agenda of the observer---there's no better standard by which to "prove" some sort of normative point than by attempting to justify it with science. Again, that's not to say that there's no value to it or that we should suspect every study of being tampered with by evil Machiavellian dwarves, but it's also naive to think that think-tanks don't bias their research.
DISCLAIMER: I know fuck-all about physics, so if you want to respond to this post with, "No, actually, in physics, we do this...", then by all means, enlighten me.
Video Game Violence: Liberal Hoax?
"Yeah, I make ridiculous analogies, but it's not like I'm RevWaldo or anything." ;-)
In my case, playing violent video games and watching violent movies as a kid has desensitized me to violence in such a way that I don't flinch from it.
I don't get that. Playing violent video games and watching violent movies as a kid desensitized me to fictional violence, but actual violence is a whole other story.
The other day, I searched on Bing for something generic relating to SQL. I forget what it was, exactly.
The first five results were all about MS SQL Server.
Don't think search engines refrain from upranking their own technologies.
Dude, I stand corrected.
Holy crap. I've just abandoned my lifelong dream to be a door-to-door salesman in the former Soviet Union.
Dude, have you ever tried opiates? (I mean, in the socially-acceptable, medical way.) Adding acetaminophen to Vicodin is like adding vanilla extract to a bottle of tequila.
I know, right? It's like, I tell those damn kids to stay off my lawn, even put a sign up...is it really my fault if they step on a landmine?
Or they'll say, "Hey, look at this! This game didn't sell well, but this draconian DRM works wonders! Lets put it on all of our games!"
"find a company with an entry level programming position -- there are plenty of them around!"
Really? Where? 'Cause I've been looking.
NEED JAVA DEVELOPER
Must have:
- 5+ years development experience in professional environment with Java, J2EE, JSP, and JDBC
- Professional experience with Oracle RDMS.
- Intimate knowledge of EMS/SAP/WYSIWYG/BLAHBLAH/$WHAT_OUR_VENDOR_SELLS systems.
- Previous experience working in $METHODOLOGY
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field.
Even if they are hiring entry-level programmers, nobody says they are. How does one get "5+ years professional experience with $WHATEVER" if there's no one hiring that says, "Look, we don't care if you've used whatever API, just so long as you can learn ours pretty quickly."
You know, you mostly hear that from people in Progressica, but I don't think they've really thought it through. After all, Redneckistan has all the nukes.
Don't forget stadiums and big hair. And office parks.
We are offering a choice of 11 different web browsers with new versions of Microsoft Windows, including:
Microsoft Browsers:
Internet Explorer 6
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 8
Non-Microsoft Browsers:
Lynx
w3m
Mosaic
Safari (Macintosh only)
Netscape Navigator 4.08
Image Xplorer
Emacs
The browser from the online tutorial code for beginning KDE programming
WARNING: If you choose any of the non-Microsoft browsers in the above list, please be aware that they are THIRD PARTY applications that are UNSUPPORTED by Microsoft Corp. Microsoft makes no guarantees as to the functionality or features of any non-Microsoft browser, and disclaims any responsibility for viruses or other malware that unsupported browsers may or may not contain.
We should just give them new middle names. ...I will be thrilled if anyone gets that reference.
That is the most I've laughed all week.
It's a metaphor for being more righteous. He has the higher ground, because he is following the Jedi teachings, whereas Anakin is an apostate.
That being said, it's still totally retarded.
No. Unfortunately, the Court refused to hear the case for lack of standing.
Interestingly, Mos Eisley does not have a criminal code, only a civil code. Han and Greedo's estate have settled the matter for an undisclosed sum, and have both launched a lawsuit against the Hutts for providing unsafe working conditions for both bounty hunters and their marks.
I don't get it. Could someone please explain this to me?
If they're trying to disguise their traffic to the command-and-control center, how does this help? If you get a lot of malformed requests from a particular host, then if you're an investigator, it's like the infected computers are advertising themselves as zombies. And if they're sending these requests to major web sites, how does this disguise the requests they're making to the (presumably non-major website) control center? Couldn't you just say, "Well, this computer made 300 malformed SSL requests to Facebook, Twitter, et cetera, and one malformed request to , let's find that guy!"
I'm seriously confused.
I had an idea like this once.
Then I threw away my Adderall prescription. And/or hit puberty.
Seriously, lay off the uppers.
I really don't understand the people who say the moon landing was fake. Of course it was real! Remember all that alien technology NASA got from Area 51?
Yeah, nowadays when I drop a $100 billion coin, I don't even bother to bend over and pick it up.
I'm still waiting for home Smell-O-Vision programming.
I have no idea, I was going for "Funny" but somehow got "Insightful."
The latest patched version of Internet Explorer fixed the bugs that Microsoft found. The latest patched version of other browsers fixed the bugs that other browser-manufacturers found. Ergo, there is no evidence that the latest patched version of Internet Explorer are less secure, since the officially "known" security features have been fixed.
In fact, there's no evidence that there are any bugs at all in the latest patched versions of any software ever written, unless the manufacturers have explicitly stated that there are. In which case, in order for policymakers to accept such a report, they would need to prove that this is the case, by lobbying the government to the effect that their software is inferior.