Category: Social Science

Social Science

Social Science of Common Sense

Social Science Insights

We’re constantly told to act according to common sense. Common sense is supposed to stop us from making foolish mistakes, and in many ways it does. This notion describes all of our social learning in a nutshell. It’s the collection of the sum total of our personal experiences as well as those of the people around us. It helps us walk into a situation with a certain level of familiarity. The problem with common sense is that it can be misleading.

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Social Science

NSW Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages vs Norrie

Social Science Insights

The New South Wales Court of Appeal ruled that people do not have to be officially registered as male or female, after Sydney activist ‘Norrie’ (below) contested this law. The judges panel ruled “as a matter of construction … the word sex does not bear a binary meaning of ‘male’ or ‘female.’” This means that transgender, intersex and other queer-identified Australians are no longer forced to fit themselves into a narrow gender binary.

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Social Science

Critique of ‘The Happiness Industry’

Social Science Insights

Australian social psychologist Hugh Mackay‘s new book The Good Life critiques the “outbreak” of positivity as a consumer industry. I share with you Mackay’s interview with Radio National as an example of public social science. 

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Social Science

Sociology of technology

Social Science Insights

Here is a good article on the historical and social influences on technology adoption. Science Professor Bernard Carlson, (University of Virginia, USA) tells engineering students: “they are going to produce sociotechnical systems,“ meaning they need to understand how people “interact with technology.”

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