The Exact Sciences and Inexact Sciences

In discussing the relative difficulties of analysis which the exact and inexact sciences face，let me begin with an analogy．Would you agree that swimmers are less skillful athletes than runners because swimmers do not move as fast as runners？You probably would not．You would quickly point out that water offers greater resistance to swimmers than the air and ground do to runners．Agreed，that is just the point．In seeking to solve their problems， the social scientists encounter greater resistance than the physical scientists．By that I do not mean to belittle the great accomplishments of physical scientists  who  have  been able，for example，to determine the structure of the atom without seeing it．That is a tremendous achievement；yet in many ways  it is not so difficult as what the social scientists are expected to do．The conditions under which the social scientists must work would drive a physical scientist frantic．Here are five of those conditions． He can make few experiments； he cannot measure the results accurately； he cannot control the conditions surrounding  the  experiments； he is  often  expected  to get  quick  results  with  slowacting  economic  forces；and  he must  work with people，not with inanimate objects．…

精密科学与非精密科学

在讨论精密科学与非精密科学所面对的分析的相对难度时，让我从一个比喻入手。你会同意说因为游泳运动员没有跑步运动员那么快就说游泳运动员技能不如跑步运动员吗？你大概不会同意。你马上会指出，水对游泳运动员的阻力要比空气和地面对跑步运动员的阻力大。很好，这正是问题的关键。在寻求解决问题的时候，社会科学家比自然科学家遇到的阻力要大。我这么说并没有小看自然科学家们的伟大成就，比如说他们能够没看到实物就判断出原子的结构。这是惊人的成就，然而在许多方面这仍不像社会科学家们所被期待要做的那么困难。社会科学家必须在其中工作的条件会使得一个自然科学家发狂。下面就是这样的5种条件：他几乎不能做实验；他无法精确地测量结果；他无法控制实验的外围条件；他总是被期待以缓慢的经济力量去获得很快的结果；他必须与人打交道，而不是与无生命事物打交道……