Thursday, November 05, 2009

That's not science!

I've encountered an amazing number of people who pride themselves on being "scientific," and yet have a very poor idea what science is all about.

Consider the fellas who insist that science is the only way that we can know truth. If you think about it though, that's a self-refuting statement; after all, what manner of scientific test can possibly show that science is the only possible path to truth?

Another fella said (and I paraphrase only slightly),

"There are many people who would have better lives if they used the scientific method in relationships. 'Your girlfriend loves you' is the hypothesis. If she does indeed love you, then she will say so, she will want to be around you, and she will treat you reasonably well. If she seldom comes home until 5 am, we might falsify the hypothesis that she loves you, right?"


A few people pointed out that this was NOT an example of the scientific method, and that the conclusions did not logically follow from the tests. Among other things, the results are subjective and not replicable. I like what one fella said (again, paraphrased slightly):

"If we say that any scientific results must objective (that is, all researchers get the same results), replicable (i.e., the experiment produce the same results every time), and quantifiable (i.e., the results are precise measurements rather than vague assessments), then none of the approaches that you're describing involve the scientific method. In fact, they fail on all three counts.

"To take the girlfriend example, your description shows exactly why the scientific method won't work in that situation. You say: 'If she does love you, she will say it, she will want to be around you, and she will treat you reasonably well.' But it's wrong it both directions. Firstly, a woman could say she loves a man, spend time around him, treat him reasonably well, and yet not love him. Second, a woman might love a man but not do any of those things if circumstances intervened, or if they had the kind of relationship which didn't center on those things. The point is that the experience of the love between two people cannot be quantified, cannot be replicated, and cannot be objectively assessed by outsiders. In other words, it is not subject to the scientific method. It is a unique experience between just those two people, and it may be vastly different from what any other two people in love experience. Anybody who searched for love by trying to exactly replicate some sort of average of what others did would be setting him/herself up for failure."