COMMENT:Helpful in explaining unsatisfactory aspects of social science, even psychology. The exposure of the misuse of math is particularly useful (though it shouldn't be overgeneralized), in that it too often inappropriately serves as a device to impress. Topics discussed include: problems associated with complexity; descriptions that serve as manipulation; use of jargon, absurdity, methodological concerns and quantification as smoke screens; "crypto-conservatism," ideology underlying terminology; the corruptions of the reward structures in social science; vacuous relativisms; and so on. A must read that demonstrates some of the persistent problems with social thought, while avoiding the sterility of hard/soft science debates.
