tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2210395876281973177.post409847960551787807..comments2023-09-05T02:06:11.217-07:00Comments on Oxford Sociology: The Kenny G of sociologyColinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03430614811751115687noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2210395876281973177.post-62207506739153744682016-06-14T01:32:49.079-07:002016-06-14T01:32:49.079-07:00Indeed. Though I think it is even worse than that....Indeed. Though I think it is even worse than that. Good journalism is at least as valuable in its own way as social science. There is a lot of sociology though (I'm not really qualified to speak about the other social sciences) that would neither qualify as competent social science nor competent journalism.<br /><br />A basic requirement is that even if what it is about is complicated - as it well might be - it can be explained in language that a decently educated person can understand. All fields have their jargon or shorthand, but if Feynman can explain quantum electrodynamics to non-scientists then a sociologist should be able to explain their work to a lay public. My intuition is that if they were to do so, in many cases there would be nothing left to explain. <br /><br />No product, no payment. Bullshit survives because it is the bullshitters direct interest to be as obscure as possible and in the interests of the consumers and fellow travelers to pretend to understand it. In a way it is like a religious liturgy. All the faithful join in on the responses even though they have no idea what it actually means, everyone feels good afterwards and everyone feigns shock at the blasphemy if anyone questions it.<br /><br />"How does he hold those notes so long?<br />He must be a genius. Wrong!<br />He just has the mindlessness to do it."<br />Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03430614811751115687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2210395876281973177.post-68927917030708724892016-06-13T13:47:45.409-07:002016-06-13T13:47:45.409-07:00There is social science and there's plenty of ...There is social science and there's plenty of glorified journalism pretending to be the former.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com