• nonentity@sh.itjust.works
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    5 days ago

    How is this any different to the various incarnations of priests? Economists interpret budgets as if they’re dregs of tea leaves, and unemployment statistics like the entrails of a sacrificial animal.

    It doesn’t matter how rigorously someone analyses scripture, the end result can only ever intersect with reality by accident.

    • Geobloke@aussie.zone
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      5 days ago

      Yeah, scientists do that too, as a geologist, the hardest of hard sciences pun very much intended

      We look at crystals like the dregs of tea leaves and isotope ratios like they’re the entrails of a sacrificed animal.

      As a common heard saying on mines, 3 geologists will have 4 opinions

      • undergroundoverground@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        The difference is that economics is a social science, masquerading as a hard science. Nothing wrong with the social sciences but they often present themselves as though the results they’ve found are akin to a hard science experiment with the lowest R values on record. In fact, ironically, most economists tend to look down their noses at the other social sciences and I think it’s causing them a lot of dukkha.

        Ironically, it’s the social sciences that would help them realise that their discipline was already enough, as it was, all along.

        The real problem came when neoclassical economics was rebranded as “just basic economics!” and not one of many conflicting, equally supported, schools of thought.

        • gaybriel_fr_br@jlai.lu
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          5 days ago

          My study presented economics as a soft science, so I’m not sure where you’re coming from.

          Of course it’s a social science, but even those use experiments and the scientific method, or do you also think sociology and psychology are bullshit?

          STEM people are the ones always looking down on every other discipline, you’re the case in point.

          • undergroundoverground@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            When did I say that any of them were bullshit? Can you not make up things i didn’t say and then argue against that instead please?

            I literally said that the subject was already good enough, as it was. How did you miss that?

            • gaybriel_fr_br@jlai.lu
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              5 days ago

              The difference is that economics is a social science, masquerading as a hard science. Nothing wrong with the social sciences but they often present themselves as though the results they’ve found are akin to a hard science experiment with the lowest R values on record. In fact, ironically, most economists tend to look down their noses at the other social sciences and I think it’s causing them a lot of dukkha.

              This entire paragraph was really telling.

              • undergroundoverground@lemmy.world
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                5 days ago

                Okay, so, I’ll try again, which bit is the part where I said the subject was bullshit? From the looks of it, it does seem as though you just made it up and argued against that, instead of what I said.

                Interesting that you left out the part where I said it was always good enough all along thought. Then again, I guess that part does really shit all over the nonses you’re spewing doesn’t it?

                At this point I’m concerned that you genuinely can’t tell the difference between the words I used and “all economics is bullshit.”