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Alan Sokal

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After holding the article back from earlier issues because of Sokal's refusal to consider revisions, the staff published it in the "Science Wars" issue as a relevant contribution. Soon thereafter, Sokal then revealed that the article was a
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gone amok," Sokal and Dawkins argued further that "distort the scientific facts in the service of a social cause" risks undermining trust in medical institutions. Sokal repeated these criticisms in an editorial for
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on May 18, 1996. Sokal responded to leftist and postmodernist criticism of the deception by asserting that he was himself a leftist, and that his motivation was to "defend the Left from a trendy segment of itself".
405:, outside of which the individual will tend to have poorer life and occupational outcomes. This concept of a critical positivity ratio was highly cited and popularised by psychologists such as 1276: 1058: 1423: 1408: 1403: 331: 143: 1443: 1398: 570: 1438: 1388: 939: 1051: 1316: 893: 522:). The book accuses some social sciences academics of using scientific and mathematical terms incorrectly and criticizes proponents of the " 1428: 1418: 1453: 1393: 1044: 350:
and combinatorics. In particular, he studies the interplay between these fields based on questions arising in statistical mechanics and
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Brown, N. J. L.; Sokal, A. D.; Friedman, H. L. (2013). "The Complex Dynamics of Wishful Thinking: The Critical Positivity Ratio".
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for denying the value of truth. The book had contrasted reviews, with some lauding the effort, and some more reserved.
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Sokal, A. (1996). "Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity".
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Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public
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In 2013, Sokal co-authored a paper with Nicholas Brown and Harris Friedman, rejecting the
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Epstein, William M. (1990). "Confirmational response bias among social work journals".
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criticizing the use of the terminology "sex assigned at birth" instead of "sex" by the
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Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
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is an "objective biological reality" that "is determined at conception and is then
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algorithms for problems in statistical physics. He also co-authored a book on
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Editorial Response to the hoax, explaining Social Text's decision to publish
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Random Walks, Critical Phenomena, and Triviality in Quantum Field Theory
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Alan Sokal’s collection of articles related to the Social Text Affair
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In 1996, Sokal was curious to see whether the then-non-peer-reviewed
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Hilgartner, Stephen (Autumn 1997). "The Sokal Affair in Context".
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In 2008, Sokal revisited the Sokal affair and its implications in
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Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua
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Pseudoscience and Postmodernism: Antagonists or Fellow-Travelers?
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in 1996 when his deliberately nonsensical paper was published by
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would be better served by intellectual underpinnings based on
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Quantum Field Theory, and a Possible Destructive Approach to φ
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Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism
326:. In the summers of 1986, 1987, and 1988, Sokal taught 245:; born January 24, 1955) is an American professor of 238: 226: 220: 773:
http://physics.nyu.edu/sokal/SocialText_reply_LF.pdf
1335: 1268: 1150: 1074: 508:Sokal followed up in 1997 by co-authoring the book 217: 190: 157: 131: 113: 96: 65: 40: 21: 501:, can be considered to be a part of the so-called 648:"The complex dynamics of high performance teams" 370:in statistical mechanics. His interests include 16:American physicist and mathematician (born 1955) 928:Sokal, Alan; Dawkins, Richard (April 8, 2024). 787:"A Physicist Experiments with Cultural Studies" 290:. He also co-authored a paper criticizing the 1052: 8: 332:National Autonomous University of Nicaragua 164:An Alternate Constructive Approach to the φ 144:National Autonomous University of Nicaragua 1059: 1045: 1037: 571:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 514:with physicist and philosopher of science 29: 18: 832: 690: 585:by a medical professional. Calling this " 518:(published in English, a year later, as 894:Science, Technology, & Human Values 858:Science, Technology, & Human Values 609: 547:In 2024, Sokal co-authored an op-ed in 1424:Academics of University College London 1317:The Dictionary of Fashionable Nonsense 600:, especially in biology and medicine. 338:were heading the elected government. 7: 1409:21st-century American mathematicians 1404:20th-century American mathematicians 477:. The affair was front-page news in 652:Mathematical and Computer Modelling 942:from the original on April 8, 2024 563:American Psychological Association 14: 1444:Mathematicians from Massachusetts 1399:American critics of postmodernism 975:from the original on May 24, 2024 771:Robbins, Bruce and Ross, Andrew. 409:. The trio's paper, published in 1439:20th-century American physicists 1389:21st-century American physicists 1029:An interview with Alan Sokal on 573:. Sokal and Dawkins argued that 213: 1000:at the Academic Genealogy Wiki 807:Dawkins, Richard (July 1998). 567:American Academy of Pediatrics 1: 664:10.1016/s0895-7177(99)00189-2 961:Sokal, Alan (May 14, 2024). 559:American Medical Association 553:with evolutionary biologist 397:. Named after its proposer, 354:. This includes work on the 1429:Princeton University alumni 1419:New York University faculty 963:"Woke invades the sciences" 322:in 1981. He was advised by 1475: 1454:21st-century American Jews 1394:20th-century American Jews 1068:Criticism of postmodernism 907:10.1177/016224399001500102 870:10.1177/016224399702200404 734:. 46/47 (46/47): 217–252. 511:Impostures Intellectuelles 487:The affair, together with 425: 417:Critiques of postmodernism 253:and professor emeritus of 1004:University College London 598:politicization of science 346:Sokal's research lies in 292:critical positivity ratio 251:University College London 202: 149:University College London 106: 28: 1343:Grievance studies affair 1309:Explaining Postmodernism 1031:The Marketplace of Ideas 809:"Postmodernism disrobed" 380:Markov chain Monte Carlo 1348:Postmodernism Generator 621:; Sokal, A. D. (1992). 596:discussing the broader 581:at birth," rather than 393:, a concept popular in 362:, which appear both in 1449:Scientists from Boston 1414:Harvard College alumni 1137:Stuckism International 587:social constructionism 364:algebraic graph theory 679:American Psychologist 451:of Quantum Gravity." 445:Duke University Press 411:American Psychologist 372:computational physics 282:Duke University Press 272:Sokal is a critic of 263:statistical mechanics 126:philosophy of science 58:Boston, Massachusetts 1301:Fashionable Nonsense 528:sociology of science 520:Fashionable Nonsense 366:and in the study of 356:chromatic polynomial 352:quantum field theory 348:mathematical physics 320:Princeton University 83:Princeton University 1285:Higher Superstition 1020:, ed. Fagan (2004). 825:1998Natur.394..141D 498:Higher Superstition 465:, arguing that the 407:Barbara Fredrickson 395:positive psychology 306:Sokal received his 296:positive psychology 259:New York University 139:New York University 1122:Post-postmodernism 785:Sokal, A. (1996). 480:The New York Times 384:quantum triviality 342:Research interests 73:Harvard University 1366: 1365: 819:(6689): 141–143. 658:(9–10): 179–192. 646:Losada M (1999). 403:negative emotions 368:phase transitions 276:, and caused the 206: 205: 108:Scientific career 1466: 1325:Cynical Theories 1293:Dead White Males 1132:Remodernist film 1061: 1054: 1047: 1038: 985: 984: 982: 980: 958: 952: 951: 949: 947: 935:The Boston Globe 925: 919: 918: 888: 882: 881: 853: 847: 846: 836: 804: 798: 797: 791: 782: 776: 769: 763: 758: 752: 751: 727: 721: 720: 701:10.1037/a0032850 694: 674: 668: 667: 643: 637: 636: 614: 550:The Boston Globe 437:cultural studies 360:Tutte polynomial 314:in 1976 and his 308:Bachelor of Arts 241: 236: 235: 232: 231: 228: 225: 222: 219: 209:Alan David Sokal 192:Doctoral advisor 186: 181: 180: 172: 171: 54: 51:January 24, 1955 50: 48: 33: 19: 1474: 1473: 1469: 1468: 1467: 1465: 1464: 1463: 1369: 1368: 1367: 1362: 1331: 1264: 1146: 1070: 1065: 994: 989: 988: 978: 976: 960: 959: 955: 945: 943: 927: 926: 922: 890: 889: 885: 855: 854: 850: 806: 805: 801: 789: 784: 783: 779: 770: 766: 759: 755: 729: 728: 724: 676: 675: 671: 645: 644: 640: 633: 617:Fernandez, R.; 616: 615: 611: 606: 555:Richard Dawkins 545: 543:Other critiques 536:Beyond the Hoax 459:in the journal 430: 424: 419: 344: 324:Arthur Wightman 312:Harvard College 304: 302:Academic career 239: 216: 212: 197:Arthur Wightman 184: 179: 176: 175: 174: 170: 167: 166: 165: 153: 92: 61: 55: 52: 46: 44: 36: 24: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1472: 1470: 1462: 1461: 1456: 1451: 1446: 1441: 1436: 1431: 1426: 1421: 1416: 1411: 1406: 1401: 1396: 1391: 1386: 1381: 1371: 1370: 1364: 1363: 1361: 1360: 1355: 1350: 1345: 1339: 1337: 1333: 1332: 1330: 1329: 1321: 1313: 1305: 1297: 1289: 1281: 1272: 1270: 1266: 1265: 1263: 1262: 1257: 1252: 1247: 1242: 1237: 1232: 1227: 1222: 1217: 1212: 1207: 1202: 1197: 1192: 1187: 1182: 1177: 1172: 1167: 1162: 1156: 1154: 1148: 1147: 1145: 1144: 1142:Transmodernism 1139: 1134: 1129: 1124: 1119: 1114: 1109: 1104: 1099: 1094: 1092:Hypermodernity 1089: 1084: 1078: 1076: 1072: 1071: 1066: 1064: 1063: 1056: 1049: 1041: 1035: 1034: 1026: 1021: 1011: 1006: 1001: 993: 992:External links 990: 987: 986: 953: 920: 883: 864:(4): 506–522. 848: 799: 777: 764: 753: 740:10.2307/466856 722: 685:(9): 801–813. 669: 638: 631: 608: 607: 605: 602: 544: 541: 524:strong program 471:social science 443:(published by 426:Main article: 423: 420: 418: 415: 399:Marcial Losada 343: 340: 303: 300: 261:. He works in 204: 203: 200: 199: 194: 188: 187: 177: 168: 161: 155: 154: 152: 151: 146: 141: 135: 133: 129: 128: 115: 111: 110: 104: 103: 98: 97:Known for 94: 93: 91: 90: 80: 69: 67: 63: 62: 56: 42: 38: 37: 34: 26: 25: 22: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1471: 1460: 1457: 1455: 1452: 1450: 1447: 1445: 1442: 1440: 1437: 1435: 1432: 1430: 1427: 1425: 1422: 1420: 1417: 1415: 1412: 1410: 1407: 1405: 1402: 1400: 1397: 1395: 1392: 1390: 1387: 1385: 1384:Living people 1382: 1380: 1377: 1376: 1374: 1359: 1356: 1354: 1351: 1349: 1346: 1344: 1341: 1340: 1338: 1334: 1327: 1326: 1322: 1319: 1318: 1314: 1311: 1310: 1306: 1303: 1302: 1298: 1295: 1294: 1290: 1287: 1286: 1282: 1279: 1278: 1274: 1273: 1271: 1267: 1261: 1258: 1256: 1253: 1251: 1248: 1246: 1243: 1241: 1238: 1236: 1233: 1231: 1228: 1226: 1223: 1221: 1218: 1216: 1213: 1211: 1208: 1206: 1203: 1201: 1198: 1196: 1193: 1191: 1188: 1186: 1183: 1181: 1178: 1176: 1173: 1171: 1168: 1166: 1163: 1161: 1158: 1157: 1155: 1153: 1149: 1143: 1140: 1138: 1135: 1133: 1130: 1128: 1125: 1123: 1120: 1118: 1115: 1113: 1112:New sincerity 1110: 1108: 1105: 1103: 1100: 1098: 1097:Metamodernism 1095: 1093: 1090: 1088: 1087:Anti-anti-art 1085: 1083: 1080: 1079: 1077: 1073: 1069: 1062: 1057: 1055: 1050: 1048: 1043: 1042: 1039: 1033: 1032: 1027: 1025: 1022: 1019: 1015: 1012: 1010: 1007: 1005: 1002: 999: 996: 995: 991: 974: 970: 969: 964: 957: 954: 941: 937: 936: 931: 924: 921: 916: 912: 908: 904: 900: 896: 895: 887: 884: 879: 875: 871: 867: 863: 859: 852: 849: 844: 840: 835: 834:10.1038/28089 830: 826: 822: 818: 814: 810: 803: 800: 795: 794:Lingua Franca 788: 781: 778: 774: 768: 765: 762: 757: 754: 749: 745: 741: 737: 733: 726: 723: 718: 714: 710: 706: 702: 698: 693: 688: 684: 680: 673: 670: 665: 661: 657: 653: 649: 642: 639: 634: 632:0-387-54358-9 628: 624: 620: 619:Froehlich, J. 613: 610: 603: 601: 599: 595: 594: 588: 584: 580: 576: 572: 568: 564: 560: 556: 552: 551: 542: 540: 538: 537: 531: 529: 525: 521: 517: 516:Jean Bricmont 513: 512: 506: 504: 500: 499: 495:'s 1994 book 494: 493:Norman Levitt 490: 489:Paul R. Gross 485: 482: 481: 476: 472: 468: 464: 463: 462:Lingua Franca 458: 452: 450: 446: 442: 438: 435: 429: 421: 416: 414: 412: 408: 404: 400: 396: 392: 387: 385: 381: 377: 373: 369: 365: 361: 357: 353: 349: 341: 339: 337: 333: 329: 325: 321: 317: 313: 309: 301: 299: 297: 293: 289: 288: 283: 279: 275: 274:postmodernism 270: 268: 267:combinatorics 264: 260: 256: 252: 248: 244: 243: 234: 210: 201: 198: 195: 193: 189: 182: 162: 160: 156: 150: 147: 145: 142: 140: 137: 136: 134: 130: 127: 123: 119: 116: 112: 109: 105: 102: 99: 95: 88: 84: 81: 78: 74: 71: 70: 68: 64: 59: 53:(age 69) 43: 39: 35:Sokal in 2011 32: 27: 20: 1358:Sokal affair 1353:Science wars 1323: 1315: 1307: 1299: 1291: 1283: 1275: 1260:Windschuttle 1254: 1107:Neomodernism 1030: 1017: 998:Publications 977:. Retrieved 966: 956: 944:. Retrieved 933: 923: 898: 892: 886: 861: 857: 851: 816: 812: 802: 793: 780: 767: 756: 731: 725: 682: 678: 672: 655: 651: 641: 625:. Springer. 622: 612: 592: 578: 548: 546: 534: 532: 519: 509: 507: 503:science wars 496: 486: 478: 460: 453: 449:Hermeneutics 440: 431: 428:Sokal affair 422:Sokal affair 410: 388: 345: 305: 285: 278:Sokal affair 271: 208: 207: 163: 132:Institutions 107: 101:Sokal Affair 1379:1955 births 1127:Remodernism 1082:Altermodern 901:(1): 9–38. 732:Social Text 441:Social Text 391:Losada Line 336:Sandinistas 334:, when the 328:mathematics 294:concept in 287:Social Text 247:mathematics 122:mathematics 1373:Categories 1117:Post-irony 968:The Critic 604:References 593:The Critic 569:, and the 434:postmodern 378:, such as 376:algorithms 47:1955-01-24 23:Alan Sokal 1102:Neomodern 915:140863997 878:145740247 692:1307.7006 526:" of the 66:Education 1245:Peterson 1215:Fukuyama 1210:Eagleton 1175:Bricmont 1160:Anderson 1075:Concepts 973:Archived 946:April 8, 940:Archived 843:40887987 796:: 62–64. 709:23855896 583:assigned 579:observed 439:journal 358:and the 1459:Hoaxers 1336:Related 1250:Scruton 1235:Lindsay 1225:Jameson 1200:Dennett 1195:Dawkins 1185:Chomsky 1152:Critics 979:May 26, 821:Bibcode 330:at the 255:physics 118:Physics 1328:(2020) 1320:(2006) 1312:(2004) 1304:(1997) 1296:(1995) 1288:(1994) 1280:(1991) 1240:Paglia 1230:Kramer 1205:Dussel 1170:Berman 1165:Benson 913:  876:  841:  748:466856 746:  717:644769 715:  707:  629:  565:, the 561:, the 475:reason 185:(1981) 183:  159:Thesis 114:Fields 60:, U.S. 1269:Works 1255:Sokal 1220:Hicks 1190:Crews 1180:Bunge 911:S2CID 874:S2CID 839:S2CID 790:(PDF) 744:JSTOR 713:S2CID 687:arXiv 318:from 310:from 1016:in: 981:2024 948:2024 705:PMID 627:ISBN 491:and 469:and 467:left 457:hoax 374:and 265:and 242:-kəl 41:Born 903:doi 866:doi 829:doi 817:394 736:doi 697:doi 660:doi 575:sex 316:PhD 284:'s 257:at 249:at 240:SOH 87:PhD 1375:: 971:. 965:. 938:. 932:. 909:. 899:15 897:. 872:. 862:22 860:. 837:. 827:. 815:. 811:. 792:. 742:. 711:. 703:. 695:. 683:68 681:. 656:30 654:. 650:. 539:. 505:. 386:. 298:. 269:. 230:əl 224:oʊ 124:, 120:, 77:BA 49:) 1060:e 1053:t 1046:v 983:. 950:. 917:. 905:: 880:. 868:: 845:. 831:: 823:: 813:] 750:. 738:: 719:. 699:: 689:: 666:. 662:: 635:. 233:/ 227:k 221:s 218:ˈ 215:/ 211:( 178:4 169:3 89:) 85:( 79:) 75:( 45:(

Index


Boston, Massachusetts
Harvard University
BA
Princeton University
PhD
Sokal Affair
Physics
mathematics
philosophy of science
New York University
National Autonomous University of Nicaragua
University College London
Thesis
Doctoral advisor
Arthur Wightman
/ˈskəl/
SOH-kəl
mathematics
University College London
physics
New York University
statistical mechanics
combinatorics
postmodernism
Sokal affair
Duke University Press
Social Text
critical positivity ratio
positive psychology

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