"Well, I had to comment on this Cobra. All of the social sciences are "science" or they could not be called such. It is not based on "opinion" "guesses" or "estimates." True, the systematic observation in social science differs than in physics, math, etc , but all science is tentative. What we consider fact at one point in time may be "proven" false at another. ie. earth center of the galaxy or the sun (just as an example)." VERY TRUE LFL! This is something that many ivory-tower natural scientist do a poor job conveying to their students, and I am sure many do not truly understand themselves. All of the sciences base their theories on reasoned interpretation of the data at hand. Most people really forget that all the "laws" of physics are really at their core human-constructed models that help us organize our perception of reality. That is not to downplay the significance of the fundamental laws and theories in natural sciences, they would not be called such if a lot of work had not been done by some trying to prove their usefulness AND other trying vigorously to disprove them.
Steven Hawking had a great quote on this: "Science is not a quest for truth. It is a quest for the best model to fit the data at hand." Questions about truth are in the hands of philosophers and theologians. Scientists (social and natural) are duty bound to follow the evidence and always strive to find a better model by creating experiments that produce more accurate data to test those models.
I personally reject the notion that some sciences are superior in their ability to glean useful information. Granted, some are more in their infancy than others, and some deal with much more complex issues. Physics is very successful at coming up with good models because it tends to focus on the most controlled circumstances. Social scientists often do not have the luxury of a completely controlled environment with minimal variables. Being a natural scientist, I have a lot of respect for all fields of science and try to incorporate as much of the knowledge of other disciplines into the understanding of my own.
Off of my personal soapbox now. Sorry for polluting the thread.
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
