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SilentCal comments on This is why we can't have social science - Less Wrong Discussion

36 Post author: Costanza 13 July 2014 09:04PM

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Comment author: SilentCal 15 July 2014 08:45:09PM *  7 points [-]

There's a lot wrong with the argument; he has no actual justification for assuming that social science is anything like swan-spotting.

But even within his unjustified analogy... apparently if someone reports a new color of swan in Australia, he might give polygraphs and vision tests to the reporter, but sending an expedition to Australia to check it out would be of no scientific value.