1/28/2004   slide 48
Sokal Revealed Hoax in Lingua Franca, May/June 1996:
•“In the second paragraph I declare, without the slightest evidence or argument, that ‘physical reality’ [note the scare quotes] ... is at bottom a social and linguistic construct.'' Not our theories of physical reality, mind you, but the reality itself. Fair enough: anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.)” http://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/
•Shows misunderstanding of theory, but expresses scientists’ frustration with ‘culture studies” fields
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Shows actually a misunderstanding of the theory—haven’t met any theorist who don’t believe in reality—just that it is mediated by culture. We’ll certainly see how our particular brain systems mediate what we see in next week’s lectures.