Physics envy
From RationalWiki
Physics envy (cf. "penis envy") is a phrase used to criticize Procrustean attempts to make a discipline more "scientific" (or perhaps just more "sciencey") by aping the form of the physical sciences, usually through what is claimed to be excessive use of formal logic or mathematicization. The term was coined by biologist Joel E. Cohen in a 1971 issue of Science.[1] A rather literal example of this is the borrowing of equations from contemporary physics by the "marginalist school" of economists during the 19th century.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Lo, Andrew W. and Mueller, Mark T., Warning: Physics Envy May be Hazardous to Your Wealth! (March 12, 2010).
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Physics Envy is the Curse of Biology, Data Deluge
- ↑ Philip Morowski. Physics and the "Marginalist Revolution". Cambridge Journal of Economics, 1984, 8, 361-379.