My frustration is The Piety of the Artists, my derogatory term for the trouble which arises in science among those whose training is in the liberal arts, the humanities, and the softer of the social sciences, when they appeal to, or invoke, the much more rigorous natural sciences. The core of the problem is that their appeals are inappropriate both in concept and substance. To put it very simply, they invoke science without being scientific.
I have a foot in both worlds: Nearly all of my collegiate study was in engineering, physics, and chemistry, while at the same time most of my non-academic activities have been outside of the hard sciences. I have come to understand just how easily the scientific method can be misused (deliberately or not) to create the illusion of empirical authority where there is none, and thereby to create false substantiation for claims. Over the years I have been chagrined and humbled by my previous lack of awareness when it came to making claims; I have since tempered my scientific claim-making considerably, though perhaps you would not notice it unless you have known me all this time and can remember the way I used to be. Even if you don't remember, you will surely recall my contempt for those who invoke pseudo-science, such as the ones who appeal to a “quantum physics” of which they have no grasp whatsoever in order that they might “authoritatively” explain a universe using framework that is as fantastical as that of faeries and elves.
Fortunately, the cure is simple: Don't mix science with the appeal to authority. Proper science requires no authority whatsoever and shudders under the very premise. I don't want to see any of you misusing science in this way. Science is as accessible as its anti-intellectual detractors claim it is not, but it cannot be cheated upon. It is a world whose work must largely be done by oneself. Your ability to make claims in areas where you have undertaken little personal study...is necessarily quite limited. Be prudent, be judicious. Do not invoke science's good name when you are unable to uphold the same.
