6 Comments
Mar 28, 2023Liked by Handwaving Freakoutery

Fascinating article.

I am a big fan of evolutionary psychology as it explains, well, everything.

Expand full comment
author

The problem with evopsych is it explains everything too well, and it's not really testable. It's got a whole lot of "hindsight is 20/20" going on in it, with no good way to set up a controlled experiment to see whether it's true or just a full of shit narrative.

I mean, I like it too. I think it's a great framework for explaining things. But I also have to caution myself from using it too much.

Expand full comment
Mar 28, 2023Liked by Handwaving Freakoutery

Thanks! I enjoy your articles.

Evopsych may not be the psychological TOE (theory of everything) but it's the best one that I have seen to date.

Expand full comment
author

Be clear, while I'm not a 100% believer in evopsych, I think it's certainly as good as anything else going in psych right now. :) Most of that field seems to be basically made up.

Expand full comment
Mar 28, 2023Liked by Handwaving Freakoutery

Ha! Yes, I (wasted) a lot of time studying Freud, Adler, Jung et al. They explain nothing and make up a lot!

Expand full comment
author

The last time psychology was a rigorous science was before they made it illegal to do controlled experiments on human's brains.

Which was fine, I mean there's no good reason to electro shock a child every time he touches a bunny, but it has definitely led to a a very sketchy field.

Expand full comment