AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE:
THE HUMAN SCIENCES
PHYSICS ENVY
“All science is either physics or stamp collecting.”
Could the Economy Tank? 23 economic forecasts for the new year. Politico magazine: January 3, 2016. Image credit: AP Photo
“Everyone knows that the social sciences are hypercomplex. They are inherently far more difficult than physics and chemistry, and as a result they, not physics and chemistry, should be called the hard sciences. They just seem easier because we can talk with other human beings but not with photons, gluons, and sulphide radicals.”
WARNING—PHYSICS ENVY
MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR WEALTH!
“Physics envy” is an epithet—with a playful reference to Sigmund Freud—often used to lampoon the "softer sciences” for aspiring to the mathematical precision and rigorous methodology of physics. The stark reality is that sophisticated mathematics is often inappropriate in the inherently messy and contextual human behavior arena.
Another aspect of Physics envy is the quest for a small number of universal laws that might undergird the multifarious phenomena in the human science domains. Applying foundational concepts like the mole, electron configurations, and the Periodic Table have certainly unified Chemistry. Cell Theory and Evolution by Natural selection unify Biology.
In 1968 sociologist, Walter F. Buckley used the term "Complex Adaptive System" to describe social systems that learn and adapt. More recently, this concept was further developed across disciplines and at different scales at the the Santa Fe Institute.
Founded in 1984, the Santa Fe Institute was the first research institute dedicated to the study of complex adaptive systems. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.
“Physics envy is the “desire to be able to explain 99% of all economic phenomena with three laws. That’s what physicists can do [in physics]. In fact, [in economics] we have 99 laws that explain maybe 3% of all phenomena.”
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T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L.
Just for fun ask your students if they have ever seen the “TANSTAAFL” acronym. If you have HL Economics students in the class; they will likely blurt out the meaning with gusto! If you receive stunned silence; select an individual to look it up on their phone. This catch phrase quoted by my IB Economics teacher colleague below, may be the nearest thing to universal law in Economics!
“There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch”
CLASS ACTIVITY i:
FIVE KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS IN ROTATION
This session builds insights gained in the Consilience of Knowledge hands-on activity. Begin with a spirited introduction to the idea of “Physics envy” in the Human Sciences. Have student volunteers read aloud the various quotes.
If you have a student taking HL Economics see if they can shed light on the Investment Saving – Liquidity Preference Money Supply macroeconomic model. An alternative would be to invite a real Economics teacher to make a short guest appearance to explain the graph, and a field a few questions.
An exploration of the Human Sciences as an Area of Knowledge would be incomplete without at least one encounter with a mathematecally configured spect of economics.
The IS-LM (Investment Saving – Liquidity Preference Money Supply) macroeconomic model: The IS curve moves to the right, causing higher interest rates (i) and expansion in the "real" economy (real GDP, or Y).
The investment/saving (IS) curve is a variation of the income-expenditure model incorporating market interest rates (demand), while the liquidity preference/money supply equilibrium (LM) curve represents the amount of money available for investing (supply).
Image and caption: Macroeconomics - Wikipedia
Before class print out individually the five Knowledge Questions on letter-sized paper. Arrange students in five groups.
Once the groups are settled hand out a printed Knowledge Question to each group. Every four minutes rotate the Knowledge Questions sequentially, until each group has encountered all five. Be strict about the time. Use a bell or novelty sound effect and, to avoid the frustration of cutting of conversation abruptly, provide a one minute warning.
Economists and social scientists are sometimes told they have "physics envy." Explain the negative implications of this accusation and provide a robust counter to it.
To what extent do natural scientists and human scientists interpret the word "science" differently.
In the various social sciences what specific precautions must be undertaken to ensure the validity of quantitative surveys and qualitative narrative-based questionnaires?
In theoretical systems like the IS-LM macroeconomic model (above) the assumption has been that human players are always rational and will act to maximize their self interest. To what extent is this the case?
We can make the claim that each and every individual in the human arena has free will and a unique life story to tell (as well as inaccessible and mysterious facets of the subconscious that might come into play). How then is it possible that many theoretical predictions from models in the social sciences reliably conform to the actual data, often year after year?
CLASS ACTIVITY II:
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Students now have a full week to craft a formal written response to one of the five questions. Specific Areas of Knowledge should be mentioned where relevant, and real-life examples used to enrich argument and counterargument.
Maximum word count: 800
Source: KAL’s cartoon in the Economist—October 13, 2023.
“... a dreary, desolate and, indeed, quite abject and distressing one; what we might call, by way of eminence, the dismal science.*”
* A close reading of the source of Carlyle’s famous disparaging Economics quote reveals that he is referring to its sometimes grim, human arena subject matter, rather than the academic rigor of its methodology!