Hard vs. Soft Sciences Part 2

How did the NAS need to change in the early 1970s?

The NAS needed to change in the early '70s due to the fact that they hadn't included social scientists in the NAS, and this was needed due to the expanding field that the majority of people did consider to be a science. It was decided that they needed to start to admit social scientists.

What are the problems in “operationalizing” a concept?
The problems that are inherent in operationalizing a concept lies in the fact that you have to come up a way to measure something that is intangible, and there is no way to verify that the units they us are correct and if they are the right ones to be used. Also the issue of how to measure these comes up, and to operationalize, you need to come up with a way to measure something intangible.

Briefly describe how Diamond illustrates operationalizing in:
· Mathematics-

If you only had two root numbers in your number system, it would prove to be hard to simulate larger numbers, operationalize them, and it creates confusion.

· Chemistry
In Chemistry ancient scientists had to operationalize the concepts of the elements as they were unable to determine the actual elements.
· Ecology
In Ecology it is evident that there are more birds in the rain forest than in a marsh, and its suspected that this has something to do with the habitat, but how do you operationalize the habitat?
· Psychology
In psychology, it was operationalizing the aspect of the attitude of doctors toward cancer.
What were Huntington’s operationalized concepts that provoked the wrath of Lang?
He tried to operationalize the concept of social frustration, which Lang felt was not possible, at least not the way Huntington did.
Why is the task of operationalizing more difficult and less exact in the soft sciences? Why does it lead to the ridicule of the soft sciences?
Because there is no exact units in the social sciences.
Why does Diamond believe that Lang might be ignorant of the measurements taken by social scientists like Huntington?
Because Lang doesn't have familiarity with the social sciences as Huntington is.
Does Diamond believe the labels associated with the sciences be replaced? Explain.
Yes, he believe that it could be replaced with hard and easy sciences, easy being the hard, and hard being the soft.
Does Diamond believe the soft sciences to be more valuable than hard sciences? Do you agree? Explain.
Yes, because he feels that the soft sciences, because they investigate human nature, are more valuable due to the fact they give insight into humans. I believe that they are equally important; one to understand nature and one to understand humans.

Soft Science vs. Hard Science

Please describe the background of the dispute between Dr. Samuel Huntington and Dr. Serge Lang.
Dr. Serge Lang decided to find fault with Dr Samuel's statement that the correlation between frustration and instability is .50 in 62 countries of the world.
How did Lang respond to Huntington’s “pseudo mathematics?”
He felt that it was ridiculous; he stated that you can't quantify human charateristics, and felt that Huntington's reasearch did not count as science.
What aspects of the dispute between Lang and Huntington are “political?”
The idea of the connection between frustration and instability; the idea that economic factors are a factor in the instability of the society has been a raging political debate for years.
How does the author, Jared Diamond, feel about “Academic Freedom?”
He feels that it is a fundamental right but that it is undermined by the ability of other scientists to question others results.
Why does the NAS exist?
It is supposed to isolate the scientific community from political views.
Why does this make that attacks against Huntington seem peculiar?
Because they violate the supposed rules of the NAS, but nonetheless the attacks against Huntington continue.
Why does Diamond find fault in the traditional perceptions of the hard sciences?
Because they are so narow in thier view; everything's about facts, facts, facts, but Diamond feels there is more information out there.
Why are soft sciences difficult to study?
Because they are full of interpretation and interpretation is not always right.

Brave New World Chapter 7

1. How does Lenina feel about their appointed guide?
She did not like their guide and feels that he is hostile, and he smells.
2. How does Lenina react to "naked Indian"(p. 110)? Does it remind you of anyone else we have studied?
She reacts in shock; she had never seen a man so old; it disqusts her.
3. How does Bernard react to the pueblo of Malpais?
He is also repulsed, but tries to seem strong and unorthodox by taking it all in stride.
4. Who is Linda? What is her relationship to Tomakin?
Linda is Tomakin's mother, and she is from the "other place."
5. Why does Linda believe that "everything they do is mad"(p. 121)? Please be specific.
Because everything they do is so completely different from what she sees as normal, and they seem completely differenet to her. The fact that someone could "want" to be whipped, or the fact that the mothers nurse the children or the fact that there are mothers at all contribute to her view that they are all mad.

Brave New World Chapter 6

Part I
1. Why does Lenina think Bernard Marx "odd" - please use specific references from this chapter in your answer.

Lenina thinks that Bernard is "odd" due to the fact that he seems to view everyone around him as odd. The fact that Bernard wanted to talk a walk and just talk with her seemed weird to her; no one does that.

2. Please provide more lines from Lenina that she learned from hypnopedia (there are some great ones in this chapter!). Do any of them remind you of sayings that we may use - please don't use commercial jingles. i.e. "1-800-54-Giant!"
Lenina also uses more inference from hypnopedia as she says "A in time saves nine" which was drilled into her by hypnopaedia. Also "one cubic centimeter cures ten gloomy sentiments" which is also another example of hypnopaedia.

3. What is Fanny's explanation for Bernard's behavior?
Fanny's explanation for Bernard's behavoir was that it was the alcohol that "they" had put in his surrogate.
Part II
4. What did the Director tell Bernard about his own trip to the Reservation? Why did it initially make Bernard feel uncomfortable?
He tells Bernard that he had gone there to look at the "Savages" and went with the girl he was with at the time, and the girl died. Because the Director couldn't remember how long ago he had gone to hte reservation, and the fact the girl died.
5. What does the Director threaten Bernard with if he doesn't change his behavior? Why does it elate Bernard?
That he would transfer him to a Sub-Centre, mabye Iceland, if his behavior did not improve. This elated Bernard because to him, it confirmed his indviduality, his differentness.
Part III
6. How does the Warden describe the Reservation?
He described it as massive, and that they do not know how many people live in the "Savage" reservation. He describes them as INdians and half-breeds, and have marriage, and religion and extimct languages, and animals and diseases.

Brave New World Chapter 5

1. What would Michael Pollan (Remember? The Omnivore's Dilemma) say about the first paragraph in Chapter 5?

Michael Pollan wold say that this almost what we have now; as we currently do process cattle in a very similar way; the cattle is all crowded together, and they are all "enhanced" with hormones, as we also do now, and they are slaughtered in a factory-like way, as we do now.

2. Do you see any similarities with World State views death as compared to the Hindus? How does Lenina's remembrance of hypopedia compare with Plato's Republic?

The World State's view of death is almost like death is just an inexorable part of life; just another part of the cycle, although it is unclear what their views are on the afterlife, or if they believe there is one.

3. What do you think of Lenina's and Henry night out on the town?

I think that Lenina's and Henry's night out on the town seems to be superficial; they seem to glide through it, not really noticing anything, or actually reflecting on any beauty.

4. Why do you think Huxley uses the word "pneumatic" to refer to some female characters?

I think Huxley uses the word pneumatic to refer to some female characters because they seem to be almost robot-like.

5. What is Solitary Service and what are Bernard's feelings towards it?

Solitary Service is a almost prayerish service in which the entire mass of people attending participate in an orgy. Bernard does not like it; all he can see are the women's eyebrows.

Nacirema

What happened yesterday?
We were given a packet on "Nacirema", in which thier culture was described, which to us seemed very different, but the description turned out to be a description of our own culture.

Why couldn't we recognize our own culture?
We could not recognize our own culture, because we do not see our culture the way the culture in the packet was described. It was filled with refrences to magic and rituals and the use of the word strange, and barbaric, which we automatically think to mean that it is another culture, due to the fact that we don't think we're like that. It mentioned that the culture was primitive.

Abel Questions

1. Why is history being rewritten constantly?
Histroy is being rewritten constantly because it is always being written wrong. History is a process of reinterpretation and reconstruction; we want it to be meaningful to us in the present.

2. What factors influence the process by which the historian picks and chooses his/her "facts"? Please provide a specific example for each factor.
The factors that influence the historian is society's intrests (what we want to read about; wars vs. peasantry's life), our conceptual apparatus changes (new insight's; advances in pscyhology, new social ideas etc.), our views of the of the basic historical segments (different ideas about history), the historians change (the intrests of the historians), and the audience for whom the historian writes changes (the ideas of the historical community and society at large).

3. What is the "Baconian fallacy?"What would the Positivists think? Would Carr agree with Namier?
The Baconian fallacy is the idea that all a historian has to do is to collects facts. The posivists would completly disagree, whereas Carr would tend to agree with Namier's idea that there is more to the historian then merely finding facts.

4. How does History differ from Geology?
History is not fixed, unlike Geology, which is fixed. Our interpretations of past events is constantly changing and evlolving, wheras geology is fixed.

5. According to Abel: "The patterns to be found in past events are selected by the historian; like the hypothesis of the scientist, they may be suggested, but are neither imposed nor dictated, by "the facts (p. 166-7)." Based on your experience with the Cheques Lab, how far do you agree with this explanation of history?
I agree with this statement; everything we did supposed in the Checks Lab was suppositioned from our own experiences and our own beliefs. Our ideas shaped what we came up with.

6. In your opinion, "how will future historians so elect to describe what is going on now(p. 167)?"
I do not think it's possible to see how future historians will see us because we won't be able to know how they see the world, which shapes how you see history, so it isn't possible for us to know how they'd see us.

7. What is historical pluralism?
Historical pluralism is the idea that every event is not related to every other event.

8. The list of events (or non-events) listed on p. 168 makes Abel ask the question: "Is there, then, no hard core or bed-rock of indisputable facts that the historian must recognize." Does it matter if there ever was a man named Trotsky?
Yes, because Trotsky was a major theorist of communism, and there are still people around today who consider him to be a major figure in communism's creation.

9. How is a historian like a physicist?
Because, like a physicist, a historian gathers information, and then interprets that information to determine its meaning.

10. What are the Five Frameworks or Hypotheses of History? Please provide an example from your HL or SL history class of each.
cyclical (Rome), functional (WW1-WW2), progress (Capitalism-Communis,), Christian (Rise of Chritianity), Organismic (society's live and die)

11. Do you believe in Historical Inevitability?
No

12. What does Abel mean when he says: "No crucial experiment can test the validity of a theory of history, any more than than it can the truth of a metaphysical theory (p. 174)."?
Because, both history and metaphysicality are unable to confirmed, due to the fact that there are areas in both which are gray; this might have happened, but we don't know.

13. Abel writes: "Macaulay regards history as a branch of literature (p. 174)." How would Jill Lepore of Just the Facts, Ma'am respond? Please provide to specific quote from the article to justify your claim.
She would tend to agree, as she seemed to lean toward the idea that history was merely a branch of literature, and said as much.

14. How does the footnote at the bottom of page 175 relate to the Shaper from Grendel?
It relates to the Shaper, in that like the Shaper does, we see events through the lens of our culture. If there is something we don't consider important, we ignore it, and we tend tto exagerate our side of the story, just like the Shaper

Brave New World Chapter 4

PART ONE
1. What puzzles Lenina about Bernard Marx's behavior?
The fact that he seems uncomfortable confuses her, as in this world it is commonplace to discuss their relationships in public, whereas Bernard feels uncomfortable doing this, as he is different than the normal person in that world, and in many ways is more like us.
2. Please provide examples of Lenina using what she learned from hypnopaedia.
Lenina uses various examples of her hypnopaedia "learning" throughout this chapter. On page 63 Lenina says "My word, I'm glad I'm not gamma." which was driven into her through hypnopaedia, and earlier on page 62 says "What a hideous color khaki is." which is the color of Deltas and another and demonstrates further evidence of hypnopaedia.
3. Where are Lenina and Henry going?
They are going to Stoke Poges, an obstacle golf course.
PART TWO
1. What makes Bernard Marx distressed? Why?
He is made distressed by the fact that Lenina is just like everyone else and isn't "special" like him. He is distressed by the fact that she discussed thier relationship in public like the rest of the people in the Brave New World.
2. Where does Helmholtz Watson work? What is his job?
He works in the Propaganda House, the center for propaganda distribution in the Brave New World.
3. What does Bernard have in common with Helmholtz Watson?
He lives in the same appartment as him; they are roommates.
4. What is troubling Helmholtz?
Bernard's behavoir; he does not seem to be acting normally, like the rest of the world, he seems a bit off.

Seeing and Understanding

7. "We see and understand things not as they are but as we are." Discuss this claim in relation to at least two ways of knowing.
How we reason is shaped by our experiences. We all have different experiences and these shape how we view the world. The idea is that we all register things differently, and therefore we draw different conclusions about them. We all reason differently, yet follow the same basic cultural lines of reasoning, though each cultural idea of reasoning is different. But every person's reasoning is slightly different. The reasoning process can lead us to the same place, yet the method to reach that place is not always the same. There are always subtle differences in the way different people think, because each mind is perfectly unique, and therefore in and of itself it is that person, and can only reason as that person can.
Our experiences and therefore how we perceive is directly related to how we see the world. Our perception is that of ourselves. In the way that all the prejudices, biases, pre-formed ideas, beliefs, and concepts we carry effect the way we perceive the outside world. For instance, in the Elephant Man, most of the city folk found John Merrick to be terrifying, as they had been predisposed to think that something different and deformed is a terrifying mindless monster. This way they have been primed through experience, and authority that differences are bad, as well as deformities, and that ones who look radically different, and no longer resemble humans, are said to be "monsters." When in reality that difference is merely on the outside, but they are primed to ignore anything on the inside and focus on the external; what separates "it" from "us." In the same way, something one person perceives as harmless could be percieved by another as the devil incarnate.

Checks and History: Similarities/Differences

Similarities:

• You never have all the information
• There is always ambiguous information; information that is not related to what you are trying to discover
• There is always Misleading info
• There is always a measure of uncertainty
• There is the deadline which restricts your scope of inquiry
• There is always information that doesn't survive or is never recorded in the first place

Differences:

• In actual historical investigations you look at other sources; not just one
• You can't put all your faith in one source, because there is always the chance it is unreliable
• In historical investigations you usually have more time to investigate, not 2 days; usually months
• In actual historical investigations, you have time to confirm the information you have gathered
• You usually have the chance to actually visit the historical sites if you're actually seriously investigating a historical event
• You actually have the capability of going out and interviewing witnesses, if any are still alive

Throughout historical investigations, in the end it is the investigator who decides what is in their book, and to a lesser extent their publisher. What they are convinced of becomes their historical record. Their work is shaped by their perceptions and their perceptions shape the way the see the facts they are presented with and effects how they interpret theses facts. This in the end determines the course of the book, as what they believe is true is what the will try to convince you of.