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THE LIVELY SCIENCE: REMODELING HUMAN SOCIAL RESEARCH
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What’s a nice reader like you doing in a book like this? I’m hoping that you’re
here because you’re curious about a way to do “behavioral science” or “social science”
that will help you figure out a problem you’d like to solve, or maybe you just wonder
what those words mean because you’re a curious type. Maybe you’re a student, new or
returning, embarking on a course with those names attached to it, or maybe a course in
one of the many other areas that make use of them.
The point is, I’m writing for readers who are fresh to the concepts, not for
colleagues. This book has a simple premise to get you started. The premise is, research on
humans in their social world by other humans is not a traditional science like the one
created by Galileo and Newton. It’s not that the creators were wrong. Far from it. The
ones who were wrong were the historical figures who tried to imitate the way the creators
worked, neglecting the fact that learning how people make it through the day is different
from dropping balls from the Leaning Tower of Pisa or getting hit on the head by falling
apples. Galileo didn’t have to communicate with the balls. Besides, he didn’t have to
worry that the balls might look down 185 feet and refuse to jump and throw him over the
parapet instead.