The Failures of Social Science

It is true that Social Science cannot accurately control for variables and can therefore never definitively prove a hypothesis. In arguing the very same issue brought up in the article, the failure or success of the stimulus plan, I ran into the same obstacles the author describes. If I argued it didn't work due to the still high unemployment and floundering economy, I was told that things could have been worse. If I took the other side and claimed that it succeeded, I was pointed back to the same argument I used when I said the stimulus didn't work. It became a circular argument, lost in philosophy and miles away from hard science. As the article outlined, when it comes to social policy, this is not a desirable way to debate. Assuming progress, I believe that one day we will have the capability to control social variables and therefore account for "causal density". Until then, perhaps we should just be content to observe and measure until we know we can effect positive change. In the hard sciences, a spaceship would not be sent to outer space without an absolute certainty it would succeed. There is a direct and unambiguous consequence if there is a failure. In social science, the consequence is indirect, interpretable, and long-term, all factors that muddle perception. Humans are naturally biased to worry more about direct consequence, and less about indirect consequence. Long-term consequence is actually the more dangerous, so let's be careful in deciding short-sighted public policy.

Probative Questions:
1. How will we know when we will be able to effectively interfere in society?
2. At what point does the quantity of evidence for one side overrule questions of "causal density"?
3. What remedies would the author suggest for improving the scientific credibility of the social sciences?

Main Ideas:
1. Social Science is yet to be confirmed as a definitive science.
2. The aim of social scientists should be to observe rather than interfere until we can effectively interfere.
3. Admitting how little we know is the key to learning more about our environment.