[Sigia-l] Programming IAs was: Little things an IA MUST know/do

[Karl Fast]

> But, how is IA more scientific than programming? I'm an IA
> mostly...I'd say that their work is a lot more scientific than
> mine.

My first reaction is that this sounds like a debate between
qualitative and quantitative sciences.

Or if you prefer between the hard and soft sciences.

As a doctoral student in a social science faculty (LIS), with an
undergrad in engineering physics, and the years between in computer
science and IA....I can say from experience:

  - they are sciences all around

  - the hard sciences tend to dismiss the soft sciences at worst,
    and underappreciate them at best

  - the soft sciences have mixed feelings about the hard sciences,
    ranging from a desire to be "like them" to an utter loathing of
    anything remotely quantitative and mathematical.

  - there are elements or art/craft/design in both. This fact is
    understood and accepted for the soft sciences, but rarely
    acknowledged for the hard sciences (especially from those
    outside the field). I assure you there is much "art" in engineering.

Still, I think IA could be more "scientific." 

I'm not sure what others mean by "scientific," but as a former
physicist I tend to define it with words like rigorous,
quantitative, methodical and predictive.


Some things are hard to overcome!

--karl