TEDxMidAtlantic 2011 - Duncan Watts - The Myth of Common Sense
TEDx Talks・15 minutes read
The speaker discusses the limitations of common sense in understanding human behavior and advocates for a more systematic, data-driven approach in social science research and decision-making, leveraging technological advancements to observe and measure interactions on a large scale. Various projects analyze online interactions to comprehend the complexity of the social world and believe in the transformative potential of the data revolution in social science, business, and policy.
Insights
- Common sense, while effective in everyday situations, often falls short when dealing with complex and abstract scenarios involving diverse individuals and interactions over time, prompting sociologists to seek more systematic and data-driven approaches.
- The advent of technology, particularly the internet, has ushered in a new era for social science research, enabling real-time observation and measurement of interactions on a large scale, akin to the impact of the telescope in enhancing scientific understanding, advocating for a shift towards leveraging data to address complex societal issues effectively.
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Recent questions
What is common sense?
Common sense is the intelligence used in everyday situations to guide decisions and behaviors without conscious thought.
How do sociologists view common sense?
Sociologists have long grappled with the limitations of common sense in understanding human behavior.
What is hindsight bias?
Hindsight bias is the tendency to construct explanations of past events after knowing the outcome, leading to misleading narratives.
How has technology impacted social science research?
Technology, particularly the internet, has revolutionized social science research by enabling the observation and measurement of interactions between large populations in real-time.
How can data revolutionize social science research?
Data revolution in social science research can provide transformative insights by enabling the observation and measurement of interactions on a large scale.
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Summary
00:00
"Challenging Common Sense in Social Science"
- The speaker, a sociologist with a background in physics and engineering, discusses the differences between social science and other scientific disciplines.
- Common sense is defined as the intelligence used to navigate everyday situations, guiding decisions and behaviors without conscious thought.
- Common sense fails when applied to complex, abstract situations involving numerous individuals with diverse contexts and interactions over time.
- Sociologists have long grappled with the limitations of common sense in understanding human behavior, as demonstrated by historical examples.
- The speaker highlights the fallacy of hindsight bias, where explanations of past events are constructed after knowing the outcome, leading to misleading narratives.
- Stories and historical narratives, while powerful and inspiring, can lead to erroneous generalizations and predictions about the future.
- The speaker advocates for a more systematic, scientifically driven approach to complex problems in policy, marketing, and strategy.
- The recent advancements in technology, particularly the internet, have enabled the observation and measurement of interactions between large populations in real-time, revolutionizing social science research.
- This technological progress is likened to the invention of the telescope, offering new insights and opportunities for scientific advancements in understanding human behavior.
- The speaker encourages a shift towards a more data-driven, scientific approach in addressing complex societal issues, leveraging the newfound ability to observe and measure interactions on a large scale.
14:02
Analyzing online interactions for social science research.
- Various projects utilize platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Amazon's Mechanical Turk, email, and search logs to analyze online interactions for social science research, aiming to comprehend the world on a large scale, acknowledging the complexity of the social world compared to physics, but believing in the transformative potential of data revolution in social science, business, and policy.
