XFilesGeek wrote:
XenoMind wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
We also have culture, language, art, and society. These things are no less real, and no less relevant, because they can't be analysed under a microscope.
All these things can be analyzed, and are analyzed.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Not through the lens of "hard" science.
Agreed. Scientific topics lie on a spectrum, from pure mathematics at the 'hard' end, and the social sciences at the 'soft' end.
Hard Science includes any of the natural or physical sciences, such as Astronomy, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, or Physics, in which aspects of the universe are investigated by means of hypotheses and experiments (e.g., the "Scientific Method").
Soft Science, on the other hand, includes any of the specialized fields or disciplines, such as Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, or Political Science (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one), that interpret human behavior, institutions, society, etc., on the basis of scientific investigations for which it may be difficult to establish strictly measurable criteria.
Even Science-Fiction can be classified by its "hardness" -- if it stick to reasonable extrapolations of known scientific principles, then it is considered "hard", but if it meanders off into unproven technology (i.e., hand-held energy weapons, transporters, light-sabres, et cetera) or technology that violates know scientific principles (i.e., FTL communications, FTL travel, psionics, et cetera), then it is considered "soft" science-fiction.
Anyway, I've digressed from this thread's topic.
Carry on!