Saturday, March 18, 2017

Quantitative Psychology

In attempts to answer the following question: "to what extent can information in the human sciences be quantified?", it can be said that this statement applies to  quantitative psychology, which is the study of methods and techniques for the measurement of human attributes, the statistical and mathematical modeling of psychological processes, the design of research studies and the analysis of psychological data. However sometimes, assessing quantitative reasoning is limited due to access to certain materials that can be used in research and development.

However an example of an application within the field of quantitative psychology majorly includes mental testing, and the most well-known being intelligence testing, which is creating a standardized test for rating a person's intelligence. Initially scientists attempted to incorporate the study of human diversity and the study of inheritance of human traits, but it is now accessible for one to complete a standardized test and be given a rating for their intelligence; the test is scored in terms of intelligence quotient or IQ. They are psychological tests that are designed to measure a variety of mental functions, such as reasoning, comprehension, and judgment. Therefore, overall, to some extent, the information in the human sciences, for the most part psychology, can be quantified.




Thursday, March 9, 2017

Scientific Language

Language is a powerful communication tool that is essential to science in order to reason and argue, as well as share common knowledge, thoughts, ideas, and terminology that will allow scientists to coherently understand scientific concepts and processes. The sharing of the common language itself supplies a sturdy structure for the basis of formulating hypotheses, experiments, conclusions, and evaluations, in which the production of such aspects of science regulate the construction of philosophies and their validity. When formulating new scientific ideas the use of the 'right' words can successfully put the thought into perspective with the purpose of bringing it to life. Therefore the use of the appropriate language does have an impact on the frequency and success of certain scientific inventions. Moreover, through the use of specific linguistic devices, mental images are illustrated, in which aid in the processing of innovative ideas as well as cause the arousal of brain activity, which assists in maintaining the brain at a healthy state.

On the other hand language plays a negative role in the evolution of scientific thought as a result of abuse of certain properties allocated within the natural language. These include the properties of duality and displacement, in which result in ultimate confusion and the construction of limited boundaries for scientific development. For instance, certain meanings of words can apply scientifically or casually, which then alters the intentional meaning and significance of the word itself. This can be specifically linked to chemistry, where heat and temperature are interchangeable yet do not acquire the same connotation. As a result, misunderstanding between the scientists arise, as they are unsure about their propositions of certain words, due to the dual nature of language. Furthermore, this causes the production of displacement of information, which can negatively impact scientific research.
 "The map is not the territory" is a metaphor that elucidates the differences between belief and reality, and the scope that our brain can administer and process information. However the brain which is represented by the map, does not withhold enough power to distinguish the complete territory of science including the unknown and undefined scientific processes that are still to be discovered. This therefore concludes that the span of the map does not define the territory.