While writing a paper for a college course I cam up with the word/idea "epimemetic" years ago. The idea is akin to those of genes. The term meme (the idea/thought equivalent of a gene) was coined by Richard Dawkins. Genes have the capacity to alter their behavior based on environmental pressures called epigenetic. I just extrapolated Dawkins’ idea to include this functionality. I am asserting that the adaptations of the Athenian Democracy and Roman Republic are a function of the survival adaptation of these ideas due to societal pressure.
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Research in the Humanities vs the Sciences
Quote From One of My College Course Responses
The major difference between research done in the sciences and humanities is the kind of information being referenced and how an assertion’s veracity is measured. This is more obvious in the “hard” sciences associated with STEM degrees than in the “soft” disciplines.
In the humanities, research is done to construct a consensus on the subject and assertion of the thesis. The veracity of a thesis is the degree and authority of references supporting it. The more similar assertions and the more senior (authoritative) sources are the better the support for the thesis. The implication is that the humanities support their assertions by consensus.
In sciences, research is done to collect supporting data recorded during experiments or referencing defined laws supported by reproduced experiments (no deviation of results). Contrary to the assertions we see in popular media, there’s no such thing as scientific consensus. Any finding can overturn popular opinion. In the case of a scientific assertion, no matter how much experimental support a paper has, a single paper with contrary validated experimental data can overturn it.
The major difference between research done in the sciences and humanities is the kind of information being referenced and how an assertion’s veracity is measured. This is more obvious in the “hard” sciences associated with STEM degrees than in the “soft” disciplines.
In the humanities, research is done to construct a consensus on the subject and assertion of the thesis. The veracity of a thesis is the degree and authority of references supporting it. The more similar assertions and the more senior (authoritative) sources are the better the support for the thesis. The implication is that the humanities support their assertions by consensus.
In sciences, research is done to collect supporting data recorded during experiments or referencing defined laws supported by reproduced experiments (no deviation of results). Contrary to the assertions we see in popular media, there’s no such thing as scientific consensus. Any finding can overturn popular opinion. In the case of a scientific assertion, no matter how much experimental support a paper has, a single paper with contrary validated experimental data can overturn it.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Welcome to the blog...
Currently working on customizing the look and feel of this app. I'll mirror posts I make on my personal site to this blog. Not sure if I really like Blogger, but its good to have things mirrored etc. You never know when you will need to shut down your site or something and having things mirrored on a free service is a good idea.
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