Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life

Description

A foundational work on historical and social studies of quantification. What accounts for the prestige of quantitative methods? The usual answer is that quantification is desirable in social investigation as a result of its successes in science. Trust in Numbers questions whether such success in the study of stars, molecules, or cells should be an attractive model for research on human societies, and examines why the natural sciences are highly quantitative in the first place. Theodore Porter argues that a better understanding of the attractions of quantification in business, government, and social research brings a fresh perspective to its role in psychology, physics, and medicine. Quantitative rigor is not inherent in science but arises from political and social pressures, and objectivity derives its impetus from cultural contexts. In a new preface, the author sheds light on the current infatuation with quantitative methods, particularly at the intersection of science and bureaucracy. 'A closely reasoned, densely written historical account of how nonscientific people came to use numbers for political purposes.' - Rudy Rucker, Scientific American 'Porter delivers a fine, scholarly account of how numerical measurement is used both to standardise results and to communicate them unambiguously.' - Jon Turney, New Scientist 'Compelling, beautifully written, and makes an important contribution to our understanding of one of the most fundamental features of modernity: the rise of quantification.' - Contemporary Sociology 'A highly original series of historical and philosophical reflections.' - M. Norton Wise, British Journal for the History of Science

Theodore M. Porter is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. His books include The Rise of Statistical Thinking and Genetics in the Madhouse (both Princeton).