"'People divide roughly, it seems to me, into two kinds, of rather a continuum is stretched between two extremes. There are people people and things people.' W.D. Hamilton (1996, Kyoto Prize lecture)
"1. Introduction
"We describe a new hypothesis that seeks to conceptually unify the analyses of psychosis and autism, two disorders of the human social brain (Burns 2004, 2006; McAlonan et al. 2005). The core of this hypothesis is that psychosis and autism represent two extremes on a cognitive spectrum with nomality at its center [descriptive stats SOP]. Social cognition is thus underdeveloped in autism, but hyperdeveloped to dysfunction in psychosis. We also suggest that these forms of deviation from normal social development [read, normative] in either direction are mediated in part by alterations in developmental and metabolic systems affected by genomic imprinting, notably via effects of genes that are imprinted in the brain and in the placenta [ht mercury birthers] (Tycko & Morison 2002; Davies et al. 2005)."
emphasis added, etc etc Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
I'm not indicting the whole field, but all too often these studies get picked-up, used, and broadcast by bigots - of one variety or another - to feed their paranoia, neuroses, or Domination Fixation.
By the by, I largely owe my sensitivity to normal-normative sleight o' hand to one reading, if you can believe it, of Shelby Hunt, Foundations of Marketing Theory. Let me see... marginalia ... ah:
Is the positive/normative dichotomy unnecessary? Do normative statements play a role in scientific explanation? To evaluate these questions, we must refer to the meaning of positive statements versus normative statements. Recall that the positive/normative dichotomy provides categories based on whether the focus of the analysis is primarily descriptive or prescriptive. Positive marketing [read, distribution or logistical system] adopts the perspective of attempting to describe, explain, predict, and understand the marketing activities, process, and phenomena [read, metaphysical] that actually exist. This perspective examines what is. In contrast, normative marketing adopts the perspective of attempting to prescribe [read, remediate] what marketing organizations and individuals ought to do or what kinds of marketing systems a society ought to have. That is, this perspective examines what ought to be and what organizations and individuals ought to do Thus, one signal (but not the only one) of a normative statement is the extence of an ought or should or some similar term.
The telelogical certainty of these remarks left a profound impression on my comprehension of the possibilities and limitations (calculus) of organizational strategy. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
Fancy that. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
