Cognitive science is a bullshit field; psychology is a joke; linguistics is sad by association.

[iamiorek]

This year, psychologists at Northwestern did a study that found that break-ups are "just less bad than you thought". The ever more present press releases of this kind make me think that academics in fields like psychology and cognitive science are either seventeen years old or have hit some kind of wall. My brief forays into cognitive science

Comments

[fshfsh]

That's the worst article I've ever read. wtf.

(Isn't all academia pointless? I've sort of accepted that I'm going to be a useless lump whose research only benefits myself.)

[iamiorek]

a) Yes.
b) A whole lot of academia--especially humanities--is pointless, yes, but at least it isn't vapid and impossible like psych and cogsci are. And a lot of academic research has really cool practical applications, but that mainly happens in hard social sciences (econ, poli sci), math and natural sciences. Namely things you have to be either really smart or really boring for.

[priyankipedia]

Yeah, I call most of this "no-shit" syndrome.

This is why I prefer International Relations. At least we get new data and theories on that all the time, and most of it's really useful.

[advaita]

Isn't "cognitive science" a fancy way of saying "symbolic interactionism" which is itself a fancy way of saying sociology? That's the impression I got from my BS Soc 101 class.

[braille_teeth]

please just go read lera boroditsky studies and fall in love with her and it will all be ok. or listen to the npr interview or something.
but you're right but fuck off but you're right but fuck off

[iamiorek]

I wish someone would prove me wrong, man.

[deviantq]

Wow, that was pretty amazing. Let's see... that would be like physicists saying that "yes, after exhaustive study of the data, stars _are_ in fact composed in part of hot plasma." But, I can't really analogize very well, 'cuz there's no analog to public perception.

I think you seriously underestimate the importance/implications of learning how the mind actually works, however. I mean, A.I. alone. Not to mention the potential drugs, gene therapies, and other enhancements... man, that'd be so good.

[iamiorek]

It is actually more like physicists saying, "Stars twinkle more brightly when there are not clouds in front of them. This is because of the clouds." I did under-implicate (heh) A.I. and such though, mainly because I was addressing cogsci more than computer science. I have all the love in the world for computer science. It should not even concern itself with psych types.

[deviantq]

Darn, that one's much better.