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Why I stopped using the phrase “This is not rocket science.”

anjaligupta.com

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Re: Why I stopped using the phrase “This is not rocket science.”

#41

Post by clarkmoody »

jerf wrote: post #27

Rocket science is hard because the slightest error will trash your multi-billion-dollar mission. See Feynman and the O-Rings, for instance. Ironically, social science would be easier if it was that rigid. What makes it hard is that even very bad models seem to sort of explain some things, sometimes, or make predictions that come true despite the model being blindingly wrong and stupid, instead of blowing up badly. An…

Add to this the fact that those who champion certain social science theories at the expense of other theories can never _really_ be proven wrong. Physics, math, and engineering on the other hand can be proven -- at least insofar as the airplane flies, the bridge doesn't collapse, etc.

In the most recent American political debate, we had two candidates describing different political philosophies for the role of government and the future of this country. Notice that instead of attempting to judge those positions, the media commentary simply "scored" the candidates on debate points and "gotcha" moments, assigning a "winner" based upon polls and these imaginary points.

Re: Why I stopped using the phrase “This is not rocket science.”

#42

Post by StavrosK »

It's odd to me that everyone comments on the phrase "rocket science", when hindsight bias is a much meatier subject to discuss. I've learnt (by reading Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality[1]) that hindsight bias is pervasive, yet easy to get rid of.

Whenever you find that something is common sense, reverse the outcome and see if it's still common sense or not. If you find both cases equally (very) likely, then you've just fallen prey to hindsight bias. Here's an excellent post about it: http://lesswrong.com/lw/im/hindsight_devalues_science/

Something can't be common sense both ways. If one solution is obviously extremely likely, all the others must be equally unlikely.

[1] http://hpmor.com/ It's a fantastic Harry Potter fanfiction novel, around 1500 pages and just amazing. If you've liked the original series, you'll love this. I read this before reading Harry Potter, and now the latter seems childish. Definitely recommended.

Re: Why I stopped using the phrase “This is not rocket science.”

#43

Post by DennisP »

pja wrote: post #23

Rockets used to be hard. Really hard: they mostly blew up, especially when the various agencies were trying all sorts of weird and wonderful fuel / oxidiser combinations in the search for the best possible specific impulse. See the book "Ignition!" by John D.Clark for some of the details. Interestingly, poking Google's ngram search suggests that whilst the phrase "rocket science" saw a little use around 1900 (I've no…

That's the second time recently I've seen that book mentioned. The first was in a couple reddit comments, with high praise.

I wish the cheapest price on amazon wasn't $229.97.

Re: Why I stopped using the phrase “This is not rocket science.”

#44

Post by Spooky23 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #11

I never liked this phrase; my friend & I (as probably many other HN'ers) were building small solid-state fuel rockets at the age of 15. There's nothing inherently difficult in the basics of rocket science and rocket engineering. Frankly, I find cooking more difficult than making a solid rocket motor land at my neighbour's backyard.

There's nothing inherently difficult with carrying a ball over a painted line, or walking up a hill in the snow. That doesn't trivialize the difficulty of being a professional athlete or climbing Mt. Everest.

The devil is always in the details. While much of the pioneering work in rocketry has been done, it isn't an irrelevant pursuit. A group of high school students can take prefabricated parts and build a pretty cool model rocket. That same team of students are not going to be capable of building an air-to-air missile.

I find it amazing that the audience on HN would be trivializing a "hard" science and engineering discipline.

Re: Why I stopped using the phrase “This is not rocket science.”

#45

Post by SODaniel »

oinksoft wrote: post #35
SODaniel wrote: post #34

I have personally always found that the phrase "It's not rocket surgery" gives a deeper and more wide-spanning explanation of the issue.

I place "it's not rocket surgery" in the same class as "redonkulous" ... mildly clever the first time or two I heard it.

That's redonkulous, rocket surgery is timeless.

Re: Why I stopped using the phrase “This is not rocket science.”

#46

Post by pja »

DennisP wrote: post #43
pja wrote: post #23

Rockets used to be hard. Really hard: they mostly blew up, especially when the various agencies were trying all sorts of weird and wonderful fuel / oxidiser combinations in the search for the best possible specific impulse. See the book "Ignition!" by John D.Clark for some of the details. Interestingly, poking Google's ngram search suggests that whilst the phrase "rocket science" saw a little use around 1900 (I've no…

That's the second time recently I've seen that book mentioned. The first was in a couple reddit comments, with high praise. I wish the cheapest price on amazon wasn't $229.97.

Ridiculous isn't it? A little searching will lead you to a pdf if you're willing to channel your inner pirate.
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