Prognosis of ecology as a hard science?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on whether ecology can be classified as a hard science, exploring the complexities and methodologies within the field. Participants examine the implications of the hard/soft science dichotomy and the challenges faced in ecological modeling and analysis.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that ecology can be considered a hard science due to the sophisticated modeling and analysis involved in studying dynamic ecosystems.
  • Others express skepticism about the hard/soft science dichotomy, suggesting that all sciences have the potential to be hard, but ecology may sometimes be perceived as soft.
  • A participant highlights the complexity of predator-prey dynamics in fish ecology as an example of the challenges faced in the field, referencing a specific model and suggesting that extending such models to multiple species is not trivial.
  • There is a correction regarding the use of the term "prognosis," with participants acknowledging its medical connotation and questioning its appropriateness in the thread title.
  • One participant points to a specific paper on mathematical modeling in theoretical ecology as a resource for understanding the rigor in the field.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether ecology is a hard science. Multiple competing views remain, with some asserting its rigor and others questioning the dichotomy itself.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying opinions on the definitions and implications of hard and soft sciences, and the discussion reflects differing perspectives on the complexity and rigor of ecological research.

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Does anyone here consider ecology a hard science?
 
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To the extent that I agree with the hard/soft dichotomy (which isn't much) yes it is. Why do you think otherwise?

Also FYI: a prognosis is a prediction of the likely course a medical condition will take. It's use in the thread title is incorrect.
 
Ecosystems are pretty darn dynamic and complex. Lots of sophisticated modeling and analysis is done.
 
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Ryan_m_b said:
To the extent that I agree with the hard/soft dichotomy (which isn't much) yes it is. Why do you think otherwise?

Also FYI: a prognosis is a prediction of the likely course a medical condition will take. It's use in the thread title is incorrect.

I agree that hard and soft is ultimately contrived, every science has a potential of being hard. It's just sometimes ecology has the impression of being soft and I'm wondering if there truly is more to the field. You do think it is hard? What areas are hardest?

Also thanks for correcting me on the word usage of prognosis.
 
I have worked some years with predator-prey dynamics of fish an it is damn hard :-) Just to give an example of a highly cited model for fish dynamics (perch in Swedish lakes):
http://129.199.13.40/IMG/file/DavidPDF/amnat2000.pdf
And this is just a single-species model. Extending this to several species and applying it to the real world is not very soft. Ör just go to the latest issue of the journal Ecology (http://www.esajournals.org/toc/ecol/95/2) and have a look at the titles (some of the papers are marked as open access, too). So I would say that ecology with few exceptions is a hard field in the sense of "being based on objectively recorded data". However, one might get a quite different impression if you just base your impression on what is written in the news.
 

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