ASCI 2000 Lecture Notes - Sokal Affair, Science Wars, Social Text
25 Sep 2013
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Paper was written to be complete b. s. , but to sound scholarly. The way we define things affects how we observe things. We construct our own meaning of observations. We assign value & interpret the things we see. What we come to believe as reality is more afftected by social forces than by actual reality. There is no truth , just what we perceive as truth (no external truth) Therefore, science is no more valid than any other approach. Sokal created a parody article: modern physics says that physical reality is just a social construct. Submitted to social text, a leading journal in science studies. They published it with no modification (issue on science wars) He revealed the hoax on same day in lingua franca. Front page new york times & multiple responses. Praise: go get em clarifying, defending science. Criticism: bad joke that erodes trust, fame-seeking, striving for/promoting superiority of sciences. Several books written about this from both sides.
