Natural Science vs Human Science (bias)

Natural Science vs Human Science (bias)

Open Ended

What is your understanding of the term "bias"?

Open Ended

Why do you think that this picture represents bias?

BIAS = not being objective (subjective)

objective = seeing things as the way it is

subjective = seeing things as the way we want to see it

Causes of bias?

• beliefs

• motivation

• emotion

president (leader) election

• present based on facts (facts don't care about our feelings)

• we don't like hearing the facts = we don't like him/her

• we don't select him/her as the leader

• SUBJECTIVE!!!

President (leader) election

• Charismatic

• Unreliable facts

• We choose him/her = subjective!

• Charisma does not equal truth

• Inspiration does not equal truth

Truth is Truth. That's it!

Bias in human science

• more likely to have prejudice about humans than atoms & molecules

• less open minded about controversial topics (gender, tax policy)

• look for evidence that confirms pre-existing prejudice & overlook contradictive evidence

• emotion

An anthropologist goes native and lives with the tribe, his/her understanding of the culture may be bought at the expense of his/her ability to be objective

Who do you think would be the best judge of a person/child? What kind biases could be involved? Give reason.

• parents

• teachers

• friends

Other problems of human science?

Research

• human science is complex!

• poor predictive record

• predicting human is like predicting course of water molecule going over niagara falls

NIAGARA FALLS

making prediction

• predictions in human science are valuable not because of its accuracy

• it gives incentive to change it

• economist predict unemployment will rise = let's prevent it!

Purpose of human science

• not to explain & predict

• it's to describe & understand

• more difficult to generalize

• humans are different, economic situations are different ...

Let's talk "bad" about natural science!

problems in natural science

• chemist/biologist committed to own favorite theory even though evidence showed that it's wrong!

• know a lot of physics but unable to predict where a leaf blown from tree on a windy day will land

• environmental factors that affect the result of the experiment

Does the thermometer measure the water or the water with the thermometer in it?

The thermometer might change the actual temperature of the water!

What's the message?

• The arrogance of scientists is not nearly so dangerous as the arrogance that comes from ignorance (Lewis Wolpert)

• science is a long history of learning how not to fool ourselves (Richard Feynman)

• science is a way of thinking more than it is a body of knowledge (Carl Sagan)