Hard on Soft Science: Difference between revisions

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A related phenomenon is "hard science" and business students criticizing subjects like Literary Criticism and Philosophy for being more [[Wild Mass Guessing]] and having little utility in careers outside the academic world. This overlooks actual, legitimate philosophies that adults can also make use of (like for example, studying logic and reasoning), and of course, how in [[Real Life]] businesses prefer candidates who bring different perspectives and ways of thinking to their jobs.

Also see [[All Psychology Is Freudian]], which also contributes to how psychology became such a target - psychoanalysis is ''blatantly'' unscientific navel-gazing, but because it was one of psychology's most [[Vocal Minority|vocal minorities]], the "psychologists sitting in couches charging 200 bucks to talk about your mom" stereotype became a [[Never Live It Down]]. Modern types of psychology, such as behaviourism, cognitive science and neuroscience, are a lot harder yet just as practical. In this case, calling Freudians quacks would work, but Skinner's experiments have been repeatedly verified. However, the history of scams, the possible lack of ethics - see [[wikipedia:Milgram experiment|these]] [[wikipedia:Stanford prison experiment|experiments]], the [[Bedlam House]], and [[A Clockwork Orange (~~Literature~~)|behaviourism's possibility of abuse]] - and "pop psychology" in general still haven't liberated it from being an acceptable target.

Also see [[All Psychology Is Freudian]], which also contributes to how psychology became such a target - psychoanalysis is ''blatantly'' unscientific navel-gazing, but because it was one of psychology's most [[Vocal Minority|vocal minorities]], the "psychologists sitting in couches charging 200 bucks to talk about your mom" stereotype became a [[Never Live It Down]]. Modern types of psychology, such as behaviourism, cognitive science and neuroscience, are a lot harder yet just as practical. In this case, calling Freudians quacks would work, but Skinner's experiments have been repeatedly verified. However, the history of scams, the possible lack of ethics - see [[wikipedia:Milgram experiment|these]] [[wikipedia:Stanford prison experiment|experiments]], the [[Bedlam House]], and [[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|behaviourism's possibility of abuse]] - and "pop psychology" in general still haven't liberated it from being an acceptable target.

Can invoke a [[Romanticism Versus Enlightenment]]-like conflict (in this case, the hard sciences form the Enlightenment). For anti-intellectualism by non-intellectuals, see [[Science Is Bad]] and [[Science Is Wrong]]. See [[MD Envy]] and [[Not That Kind of Doctor]], which can be related.

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== [[Literature]] ==

* In Neal Stephenson's ''[[Cryptonomicon]]'', a few intellectuals met by the computer scientist protagonist are insufferable idiots with little grip on reality. Then again, his grandfather had a very poor grip on reality, and he was also a computer scientist.

* The statistician narrator in Stanisław Lem's ''[[His ~~Masters~~ Voice]]'' pejoratively calls the group of linguists, psychologists, "pleiographers" etc. "[[Elves vs. Dwarves|elves]]".

* The statistician narrator in Stanisław Lem's ''[[His Master's Voice]]'' pejoratively calls the group of linguists, psychologists, "pleiographers" etc. "[[Elves vs. Dwarves|elves]]".

* Inverted in [[Stephen King]]'s ''The Stand''. Not only is hard science [[Science Is Bad|bad]], but one of the heroes is a sociologist.

* In ''[[Starship Troopers (~~Literature~~)|Starship Troopers]]'', [[Robert A. Heinlein|Heinlein]] goes on at length about how flawed 20th century psychology was/is. However [[Characterization Tags|Future!]]Psychology teaches nothing but "hard truths"... by the ''math department''.

* In ''[[Starship Troopers (novel)|Starship Troopers]]'', [[Robert A. Heinlein|Heinlein]] goes on at length about how flawed 20th century psychology was/is. However [[Characterization Tags|Future!]]Psychology teaches nothing but "hard truths"... by the ''math department''.

** Another Robert Heinlein example, from the "Notebooks of Lazarus Long" in ''[[Time Enough for Love]]''.

{{quote| If it can't be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.}}

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** For an MD and a Scientist, Crichton spent an awful lot of time writing [[Science Is Bad|against type.]] e.g. [[Jurassic Park]].

* Shows up repeatedly in the works of [[Greg Egan]]; most notably in [[Schilds Ladder|Schild's Ladder]]

* This is played straight as a central trope of ''[[The Space Trilogy|That Hideous Strength]]'' by [[CS ~~Lewis~~ ~~(Creator)~~|CS Lewis]] -- one of the protagonists and most of our villains are sociologist-types. It goes so far that [[Values Dissonance]] rams this book into [[Poe's Law]].

* This is played straight as a central trope of ''[[The Space Trilogy|That Hideous Strength]]'' by [[C. S. Lewis|CS Lewis]] -- one of the protagonists and most of our villains are sociologist-types. It goes so far that [[Values Dissonance]] rams this book into [[Poe's Law]].

** One minor character is an eminent chemist. He has a brief conversation with the (currently bamboozled) sociologist protagonist: Sociologist: "I can quite understand that it [the villains' scheme] doesn't fit in with your work as it does with sciences like Sociology, but--" Chemist: "There are no sciences like Sociology." The chemist is then murdered by the villains, the sociologist framed for the murder, and blackmailed into running propaganda for them. Lewis's objection to sociology (within the book, at least) was that it, like the other soft sciences, invites the scientist to treat people as specimens, without compassion. His chemist says, "I happen to believe that you can't study men; you can only get to know them, which is quite a different thing."

* Averted with [[Isaac Asimov]]'s [[Foundation]] series. Hari Seldon is (posthumously) considered to be one of the most brilliant scientists in the history of the Galaxy, and his work in psychohistory is considered not only seminal but absolutely necessary for the survival of civilization. While psychohistory is presented as a mathematical science, it is still considered to be a branch of psychology, a "soft" science.

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** This behavior was actually the subject of a [[Take That]] in an episode where Booth and Bones head to a mental hospital where Bones makes pointed [[Take That|remarks]] to the head psychologist there. Eventually after a while of this the psychologist finally gets sick of this and points out that while her expertise in the dead is all well and dandy, he's using his training to help 'living people' who desperately need it, soft science or not.

*** In the same episode, Bones mistakes a delusional patient for an actual doctor. It's unclear as to whether this supports her view (psychiatry minus the pharmacology degree can be perfectly emulated by any reasonably bright [[Sophisticated As Hell|basket case]]) or not (Bones was [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Like|Complaining About Sciences She Doesn't Like]] ''and'' [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch|Complaining About Sciences She Doesn't Study Enough To Understand]]).

* On ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'', Sheldon (a theoretical physicist) is often belittling engineers (like Howard) even calling them "the [[Charlie and ~~The~~ Chocolate Factory|Oompah-Loompahs]] of science" once. Of course, Sheldon tends to belittle anyone who doesn't live up to his lofty standards (i.e., everyone else), including his other friends Raj (an astrophysicist) and Leonard (a particle physicist).

* On ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'', Sheldon (a theoretical physicist) is often belittling engineers (like Howard) even calling them "the [[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory|Oompah-Loompahs]] of science" once. Of course, Sheldon tends to belittle anyone who doesn't live up to his lofty standards (i.e., everyone else), including his other friends Raj (an astrophysicist) and Leonard (a particle physicist).

** Sheldon also fell victim to a more literal version of this trope when he briefly comments on the inaccuracy of the social sciences in the episode "The Friendship Algorithm", while he presents Penny with his "friendship questionnaire". He wasn't happy about doing one, as in his view the social sciences are 'largely hokum', but saw no alternative. Sheldon even botches the methodology: no social scientist in his or her right mind would expect a respondent to handle a ''200-question'' exam.

** Leonard's parents (a neurologist and an anthropologist) apparently only used sex in their relationship for reproduction, and both wrote papers on it. His mother visits and discusses this with Sheldon, pointing out that because her paper was from a neurological standpoint means it was the only one worth reading, to which Sheldon promptly agrees.

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== [[Video Games]] ==

* In ''[[Professor Layton and ~~The~~ Unwound Future]]'', the Prime Minister (a former scientist) it talked into taking part in a scientific demonstration after the demonstrator brings up how he abandoned the hard sciences for politics.

* In ''[[Professor Layton and the Unwound Future]]'', the Prime Minister (a former scientist) it talked into taking part in a scientific demonstration after the demonstrator brings up how he abandoned the hard sciences for politics.

== [[Web Comic]] ==

* ''[[~~Xkcd (Webcomic)|~~Xkcd]]'', [http://xkcd.com/451/ here], as well as [http://xkcd.com/435/ here]. [[Rule of Three|And finally]], the [[Alt Text]] [http://xkcd.com/764/ here]. (Social scientists tend to share Munroe's view of literary criticism.)

* ''[[Xkcd]]'', [http://xkcd.com/451/ here], as well as [http://xkcd.com/435/ here]. [[Rule of Three|And finally]], the [[Alt Text]] [http://xkcd.com/764/ here]. (Social scientists tend to share Munroe's view of literary criticism.)

** Some of these are more serious than others. The one against anthropologists was intended to be in jest, but came across harsher than Munroe intended; the following day, he [[Incredibly Lame Pun|anthropologized]].

** ''[[Precision F-Strike|Fuck]]'' [[Running Gag|Computational Linguistics]]

* ''[[Skin Horse]]'', [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/skinhorse/series.php?view=archive&chapter=33564#strip5 here].

* Heartily mocked [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20050924.html in the commentary of] one ''[[~~Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)|~~Schlock Mercenary]]'' strip.

* Heartily mocked [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20050924.html in the commentary of] one ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' strip.

* Inverted in [http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=231 this] [[Hark a Vagrant]] strip. [[HG Wells]] seems a little hard on ''hard'' science.

* Inverted in [http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=231 this] [[Hark! A Vagrant]] strip. [[H. G. Wells]] seems a little hard on ''hard'' science.

* One ''[[Girl Genius]]'' strip involves a mad social scientist griping about the fact that the Sparks who go into the hard sciences get all the funding.

{{quote| '''Scientist''': I told the Baron, give me a thousand orphans, a hedge maze, and enough cheese, and I can...}}