Hopefully Anonymous

Katja, of the overcomingbias comments section, has an excellent blog

http://meteuphoric.blogspot.com/

A wiki observing an academic journal observing a wiki

P2P foundation has a wiki on the social epistemology journal Episteme's recently published issue on wikipedia:

http://p2pfoundation.net/Wikipedia_-_Epistemology

Effing Fantastic: Coherence Theory as a subset of Social Epistemology

This doesn't really explain coherence theory, but I like its critiques of social epistemology that leans too heavy on analytic philosophy. I think exploring the concept of coherence is fruitful, given that ideas and knowledge exist in various states of coherence in their distribution across people, institutions, and across time.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28200338_ITM

Real Knowing: New Versions of Coherence Theory.(Review)

Publication: Hypatia

Publication Date: 22-JUN-00

Author: Wong, James

 
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COPYRIGHT 2000 Indiana University Press

Real Knowing: New Versions of Coherence Theory. By LINDA MARTIN ALCOFF. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996.

Linda Alcoff's Real Knowing: New Versions of Coherence Theory is a timely contribution to a fast-growing body of research in "social epistemology," a field drawing the attention of philosophers, sociologists of knowledge, social constructionists, and others. Her book begins with an introductory chapter, laying out her project for a new paradigm of epistemology and the consequent metaphysical position that she calls "immanent realism." Alcoff follows with chapters on Gadamer, Davidson, Foucault, and Putnam, devoting two chapters each to Gadamer and Foucault. In these chapters, she shows how their works--Gadamer's hermeneutics, Davidson's account of truth, Foucault's analyses of discursive formations and his idea of power/knowledge, and Putnam's internal realism--contribute to her project. In the concluding chapter, Alcoff summarizes her coherentist theory of knowledge and distinguishes it from Michael Williams's contextualist epistemology in his Unnatural Doubts (Williams, 1996).

A NEW PARADIGM FOR EPISTEMOLOGY

Analytic epistemologists have until recently been largely silent on the topic of social influences on knowledge. Their apparent lack of interest in this area is not because they deny that knowledge is socially mediated; rather, their concern is with determining the conditions of knowledge under which a person has knowledge. That project has had a decidedly individualist focus. But more recently, philosophers working in that tradition, like Alvin Goldman (1999) and Frederick Schmitt (1994), have extended traditional analytic analyses to take into account social processes as well. To accommodate social factors, Philip Kitcher has proposed that the standard S-knows-p formula be amended as "for any S and any p, such that S correctly believes that p, whether S knows that p depends not simply on the psychological processes undergone by S but on the activities of a chain of others, extending from those who have taught S into both the contemporary and ancestral communities" (Kitcher 1993, 160). The proposed analysis does not tell the whole story about the social dimensions of knowledge. Philosophers with wider concerns, like Alcoff, could rightly say: Plus ca change, plus ca la meme chose.

Alcoff is dissatisfied with the narrow focus of the traditional epistemological project. There is hardly anything social in "social epistemology" as practiced by analytic philosophers. In her view, standard analyses, focusing as they do on examples such as "Jones owns a Ford" and "I see a computer screen in front of me," are detached from "real" processes by which people come to know. To paraphrase Wittgenstein, it is an analysis fed on a slender diet of examples. In real life, individuals have to deal with knowledge claims about how children develop, about parenting, about social issues (teen parenting and workfare, for instance), and much else. Epistemologists, Alcoff urges, must address questions arising from these more complicated examples. Rather than just concentrating on the criteria of knowledge, they should examine other salient...

COPYRIGHT 2000 Indiana University Press

Brain Droppings Saturday March 14, 2009

1.

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-047138349X.html

"Applied Statistical Decision Theory" is a textbook that apparently has been around since the '60s.

2.

First post by orgtheory

http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2006/04/21/greetings-organizational-world/

3.

The TGGPosphere: it's impressive. TGGP reminds me something of 2001's monolith, or Rainbow End's rabbit.

http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=TGGP&scoring=d&sa=N&start=0

Why do biomedical researchers studying consciousness seem more professionally responsible than social epistemologists? I'm thinking here of Fuller's seemingly crankish involvement in intelligent design debates.

4. I'm surprised the web isn't already filled with papers and literature like this:

A draft paper on social epistemology and the internet

http://travel-guide-travel.blogspot.com/2009/03/designing-wisdom-through-web-passion-of.html

Columbia Business School professor Eric J. Johnson has commented in an overcomingbias thread on animal status contention

It looks like Columbia Business School professor Eric J. Johnson has commented in an overcomingbias thread on animal status contention. He's an expert on decision theory and behavioral economics. The post is enlightening:

http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/03/status-prudes.html?cid=6a00d8341c6a2c53ef01127966c06a28a4#comment-6a00d8341c6a2c53ef01127966c06a28a4

I'm curious how competing ideologies may employ these strategies in the competition for mindspace. Also its interesting how macrosocial entities comprised of humans may be dumber than nonhuman animal cultures or wirings (by not avoiding mistakes illustrated in some of these animal examples).

Neil Strauss Blogs

I just got around to noticing.

Neil Strauss may be the most transparently socially intelligent person alive (there are people who I think are probably nontransparently more socially intelligent than Neil -George Soros, Barack Obama, Rupert Murdoch, Brad Pitt). It's not that I think Neil is perfectly transparent, probably no one can be and survive, but among the community empirically investigating social intelligence, and sharing much of their findings with each other and the public, Neil seems to be the smartest of the cohort to me.

Further, many of my best epiphanies related to social intelligence (by my own ranking) Neil has in public musings either beat me to them, came up with them simultaneously, or came up with them independently shortly thereafter.

Now with his latest book, his transparency has extended from social intelligence to maximization of persistence odds. I haven't read the book yet, but I heard an inteview on opie and anthony radio, and he seems disappointedly focused on more cartoonish aspects of survivalism -- not on more statistically intelligent approaches that some combination of Aubrey de Gray and Nick Bostrom would come up with. But his books tend to be journey books -perhaps he ends up in more enlightened territory by the end of the book.

Its interesting that Neil never has cited Erving Goffman to my knowledge, because it occurs to me Neil may be his truest intellectual heir.

Although I haven't met Neil yet, I have a very close degree of separation from him, and actually was recruited to be a professional pick up artist by people close to the Mystery Method circle. I came close to going that route, but opted to more traditional paths of social status and wealth-building instead.

Nevertheless I try to keep tabs on the seduction empiricism community. I'm not interested in banging hotties more than transient horny periods we get as healthy primates, but social intelligence does seem vital to me, and much like the first transparent empiricists on human productivity, these guys have set off a bit of an arms race. Unfortunately its probably wasting social resources at the macrosocial level (we're using resources to compete in building personality plumage with their technology, rather than competing in ability to reduce communal catastrophic existential risk) but I'm not a macrosocial entity, I'm an individual human, and as such I wouldn't choose to disarm on principle. So ... who do you think lies more, men or women? ;-)

http://www.neilstrauss.com/neil-strauss/

Using human intellectual resources more efficiently

It's an easy point, but worth drawing attention to. We leave a lot of intellectual resources on the table, and it's a good idea for more effort to be devoted to employing them. For example, topic experts not being utilized because they're in countries where they don't speak the primary language.

http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2009/03/newcomers_langu.php

Some thoughts on social epistemology

These may be pretty random, in the "brain droppings" format:

1. Iterations, discrete sequential moments in time, and social epistemology. I don't have anything coherent to say about this yet, but I think there's something there, which Yudkowsky hints at with his Eliezer-subscript1997, etc. representing his state of knowledge and mind at different points of time. Even now within the epistemological blogosphere we see it: Mankiw shares information or has an epiphany, Krugman reacts on it, Cowen reacts on it, DeLong reacts on it, etc. There's an element of social performance (to use the analytical frame of Goffman), there's an element of relatively raw cognition, but the iterative, sequential element of this social production of knowledge lacks a meta-awareness/transparency that I'm trying to reach for here.

2. The social epistemology of the blogging. I haven't seen that as a journal title but if it's not out there, it should be soon. What's great about blogs, message boards, and comments is that there's an easily accessible record.

3. I surprised there are serious researchers and theorists of any stripe that aren't blogging daily. There's a field of cohort experts and outside experts that's most easily accessible by making your daily musings globally accessible. Also, I don't get the reluctance to make it very easy to comment on one's blogging. It just makes it harder for you as an individual to capture useful ideas and insights. I suspect there's significant free-riding by closed bloggers (andrew sullivan, mankiw) off of the comment-capture of open bloggers (yglesias, cowen).

Semiotics, Status, Krugman receiving the Nobel Prize, and Mankiw's reaction

I should preface this by saying I'm a complete nonexpert on this topic.

However, this is what the 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics award seems like to me.

1. Conservative academic economists value the nobel prize as a status and achievement symbol. They also value speculating on and predicting who will win it each year.

2. Swedes value feeling higher status than Americans, and two ways they get to experience this is by awarding nobel prizes, and by being regarded as having HDI due to the valuing of economic/social rights not recognized by Americans.

3. There is a cohort of economists where there is general consensus that they are nobel prize worthy in achievements. Some are liberal, some are conservative, some are neither or nonideological.

4. Krugman is a member of this cohort. It is more notable that of this cohort he has been the loudest critic of American conservatives than that he has had the most prodigious achievements within economics.

5. The Swedes in charge of deciding this year's nobel prize winner for economics chose Krugman to send a message to conservatives: in particular conservative economists. The message was something like: we're picking Krugman as a status performance. We're saying we're higher status than you because we disapprove of your politics, we approve of Krugman's criticism of it, and because we get to pick the nobel prize winner of economics and can use it to make points like that.

6. Conservative economists have more or less accepted this status performance because they want the nobel prize in economics to retain and increase its stature and prestige -and they fear a diminishment if they battled over its award this year to Krugman.

That's my layman's suspicion of the nontransparent semiotics and status performances regarding the nobel prize award to Krugman.

Great title for a paper: "Conceptualizing Identity as Ideology: A Quantitative Measure of Subcultural Identity"

I happened on this doing a search for quantitative measures and analysis of social status. I haven't looked at the paper but it's a great title, because I'm also interested these days in ideological capture deforming social epistemology, and ideology fueling the animal spirits to engage in social epistemology. Beyond that I think "ideological capture" is a limiting phrase, I'm looking for something more like "macrosociological structure capture" to describe how our general social environment deforms our attempt to understand reality. I don't know if that makes identity a subcategory of ideology, both both are something like macrosociological structures that deform our approaches to understanding reality, it seems to me. So this paper is a bit of a clusterfuck of topics (or at least key words) I'm interested in.

I'm a bit disappointed that the author applied it to the subculture of jambands, as opposed to, say, the subculture of rationalists or immortalists, or existential risk minimizers or even academic bloggers, macroeconomists, any of the communities I have more of a natural interest in. Incidentally, I think it's always useful for the observer to initially turn their new mechanism or measure on themselves -and I think it's more than a stunt. Robin Hanson does this fairly frequently to his credit. So I hope Pamela Hunt does this soon with her subculture of social scientists looking at this type stuff.

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/1/8/9/7/p18979_index.html

MLA Citation:

Hunt, Pamela. "Conceptualizing Identity as Ideology : A Quantitative Measure of Subcultural Identity" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Marriott Hotel, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, PA, Aug 12, 2005 <Not Available>. 2009-03-05 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p18979_index.html>

APA Citation:

Hunt, P. M. , 2005-08-12 "Conceptualizing Identity as Ideology : A Quantitative Measure of Subcultural Identity" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Marriott Hotel, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, PA Online <PDF>. 2009-03-05 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p18979_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Subcultures have historically been studied through qualitative data collection and inductive analysis. This offers researchers an interpretive understanding of the subculture's alternative belief system, or ideology. One important aspect of studying subcultures is delineating the sub-cultural identity. Yet, there is no systematic, rigorous measure of identity as self-meaning in most subcultures, and more generally, there are few scales for measuring sub-cultural identities. Developing a systematic measure of sub-cultural identity could help researchers identify where members situate themselves within the subculture. It could also aid in the statistical analysis of relationships between sub-cultural identity and other variables.
I have three goals in this paper. First, I propose using a measure to gauge individual members' self-meanings in terms of their connection to the popularized jam band scene. In doing so, I will explore whether identities in what was once called the Deadhead subculture are multidimensional. Second, I will discuss how I developed the measure and present preliminary results to illustrate the measure's usefulness in musically based and similar subcultures. Finally, I will describe the unique nature of my research as a member of this subculture and the innovativeness of my methodology to quantitative research.

http://www.westga.edu/soccrim/index_6088.php

Assistant Professor of Sociology
223 Pafford Building
(678) 839-6336
phunt@westga.edu
Ph.D. Kent State University
CV: January 2009

Dr. Pam Hunt earned her doctoral degree in sociology from Kent State University in 2008.   Dr. Hunt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and business administration from the University of Dayton in 1998.  She then spent one year as a volunteer in Dayton's AmeriCorps program.  There she pioneered a youth leadership program designed to motivate inner city youth to be leaders in their communities and to teach American Red Cross courses to younger youth - courses including First Aid, CPR, and HIV/AIDS Education.  Dr. Hunt also earned a Master of Art degree in sociology from Ohio University in 2002.  Her teaching interests include Social Psychology, Social Problems, Qualitative Research Methods, Subcultures, and Sociological Theory.  Her research interests include Social Psychology, Deviance, and Subculture.  Her most recent research investigates meaning socialization within the jamband music subculture.

PAMELA M. HUNT
Department of Sociology & Criminology (678) 839-6336
223 Pafford phunt@westga.edu
University of West Georgia
Carrollton, Georgia 30118
EDUCATION
Ph.D. 2008, Kent State University, Sociology
M.A. 2002, Ohio University, Sociology
B.S. 1998, University of Dayton, Marketing and Business Administration
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
2008-present Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of West
Georgia
2002-2008 Instructor and Graduate Assistant, Department of Sociology, Kent State University
2000-2002 Instructor and Graduate Assistant, Department of Sociology, Ohio University
RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS
Social Psychology, Deviance, Social Inequalities, Social Problems, Research Methods, Theory
PUBLICATIONS
Hunt, Pamela M. 2008. “From Festies to Tourrats: Examining the Relationship between Jamband
Subculture Involvement and Role Meanings.” Social Psychology Quarterly 71(4):356-78.
UNDER REVIEW
Hunt, Pamela M. “Not Fade Away: The Jamband Subculture as Temporary Community.” In Same
Time Next Year: Recurrent Temporary Communities, edited by Robert Gardner. Manuscript in final stages
of revision; editor is currently securing publisher.
Hunt, Pamela M. “Communalism: Is it Deviant? Investigating Behavior Meanings in a Communal
Subculture.” Revise and resubmit to Deviant Behavior.
IN PROGRESS
Hunt, Pamela. “Meaning Differences in Settings.”
Hunt, Pamela. “A Quantitative Measure of Subcultural Ideology.”
Hunt, Pamela. “Gender and Meaning Variation within the Jamband Subculture.”
AWARDS AND HONORS
2007 Outstanding Graduate Student Paper, Sociology of Emotions Section of the
American Sociological Association
2007 University Fellow, Kent State University, Department of Sociology
2003 Alpha Kappa Delta Honor Society
2000 Congressional Recognition of Outstanding Service to Community, AmeriCorps
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS AND INVITED TALKS
Hunt, Pamela. 2009. “Meaning Differences in Settings.” To be presented at the Southern Sociological
Society (SSS) annual meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Hunt, Pamela. 2008. “Communalism: Is it Deviant? Investigating Behavior Meanings in a Communal
Subculture.” Presented at the Mid-South Sociological Association (MSSA) annual meeting,
Huntsville, AL.
Hunt, Pamela. 2007. “Membership and Subcultural Identity Meaning: Exploring Two Continuous
Measures of Membership in the Jamband Subculture.” Presented at the American Sociological
Association (ASA) annual meeting, New York, NY.
Hunt, Pamela. 2007. “Not Fade Away: Jamband Subculture as Temporary Community.” Presented at
Society for the Study of Symbolic Interactionism (SSSI) annual meeting, New York, NY.
Hunt, Pamela. 2006. “Using Affect Control Theory to Understand Subculture.” Presented at Group
Processes Mini-Conference held at the ASA annual meeting, Montreal, Quebec.
Hunt, Pamela. 2005. “Conceptualizing Ideology as Identity: A Quantitative Measure of Subcultural
Identity.” Presented in Sociology of Culture Regular Session ASA annual meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
Hunt, Pamela and Frank Falk. 2004. “Investigating the Historical Significance of Northeast Ohio to
the Underground Railroad.” Presented at North Central Sociological Association (NCSA) annual
meeting, Cleveland, OH.
Hunt, Pamela. 2003. “Where the Music Takes You: A Symbolic Interactionist View of Nomadic
Vendors in a Music Scene.” Presented at the Couch-Stone Symposium, Tempe, AZ.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Assistant Professor
2008-present University of West Georgia, Sociology and Criminology Department
Courses Taught: Introduction to Sociology
Social Psychology
Qualitative Research
Instructor
2003 - 2008 Kent State University, Sociology Department
Courses Taught: Social Problems
Individual & Society
2006 Hiram College, Sociology Department and Weekend College
Courses Taught: Social Problems
2001 - 2002 Ohio University, Sociology Department
Courses Taught: Social Problems
Teaching Assistant
2002 - 2003 Kent State University, Sociology Department
Courses: Introduction to Sociology; Minorities in America; Introduction to Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual Studies; Childhood in Society
2000 - 2001 Ohio University, Sociology Department
Courses: Social Problems; Sociology of Sport; Social Psychology
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2003 Research Assistant, Quality of Life of People with Mental Illness
PI: Dr. Christian Ritter, Kent State University
Duties: Attended meetings and court proceedings involving patients with mental
illness. Conducted in-person interviewing of patients for assessment.
2003 Research Associate, Qualitative Research Project on Gender Issues in Case
Elementary School Reading Proficiency
PI: Dr. Carolyn Behrman, University of Akron
Duties: Led group of undergraduates in the implementation of various qualitative
methods, including observation, field notes, and interviewing young children.
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
2005 Collins, Clayton. “Caught in a Jam.” Christian Science Monitor, September 9, 2005
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
2008-present Mid-South Sociological Association
2008-present Southern Sociological Society
2006 - 2007 Sociologists for Women in Society
2002 - present American Sociological Association. Sections: Social Psychology; Emotions; Crime,
Law, and Deviance
SERVICE ACTIVITIES
Service to the Discipline:
2007 Textbook Reviewer: Reading Between the Lines, 4th edition
2006 Ad Hoc Reviewer: Sociological Focus
2006 Textbook Reviewer: Joel Best’s Social Problems: A Constructionist Approach
2005 Presider, Roundtable. “Theory: Theories of Resistance and Dissent.” American
Sociological Association annual meeting, Philadelphia, PA
2004 Organizer and Presider. “Program Evaluation Research.” North Central
Sociological Association annual meeting, Cleveland, OH
Service to University of West Georgia
2008 Faculty Advisor, Sociology Club and Alpha Kappa Delta
2009-2011 Editorial Board, Studies in the Social Sciences Journal
Service to Kent State University:
2007 - 2008 Search Committee, Doctoral Representative
2006 – 2007 Kent State chapter of Sociologists for Women in Society, Secretary
2005 – 2006 Faculty Advisory Committee, Doctoral Representative
2004 - 2005 Graduate Student Senate, Sociology Senator
2003 - 2004 Friends and Allies Student Organization, Faculty Advisor
2003 Reviewer for Research Award Committee, Graduate Student Senate
2002 - 2004 Curriculum and Undergraduate Studies Committee, Doctoral Representative
REFERENCES
Dr. Amy Kroska Dr. Matthew T. Lee
Associate Professor Associate Professor
Department of Sociology Department of Sociology
University of Oklahoma University of Akron
329B Kaufman Hall 256 Olin Hall
780 Van Vleet Oval Akron, Ohio 44325-1905
Norman, Oklahoma 73109 (330) 972-5357
(405)325-2793 mlee2@uakron.edu
amykroska@ou.edu
Dr. Will Kalkhoff Dr. John F. Zipp
Associate Professor Professor and Department Chair
Department of Sociology Department of Sociology
Kent State University University of Akron
312 Merrill Hall 247B Olin Hall
Kent, Ohio 44242-0001 Akron, Ohio 44325-1905
(330) 672-3712 (330) 972-7480
wkalkhof@kent.edu jzipp@uakron.edu