The Science Wars: a pox on both their houses

Abstract

According to physicist David Mermin, the science wars was a series of exchanges between scientists and "sociologists, historians, and literary critics" whom the scientists thought to be "ludicrously ignorant of science, making all kinds of nonsensical pronouncements." The science wars peaked in 1996 with the publication of a hoax article by physicist Alan Sokal in a cultural studies journal and then seemed mercifully to die away by the end of the 1990's. I recently noticed, however, that the kerfuffle has persisted. This motivated me to pen this essay and point out the silliness of the entire affair.