Hi Martin,

The exactness of the "softer" sciences notwithstanding, I believe social scientists in this forum can impact the society much better than the 'hard' scientists do. We are more of bean counters lacking a view of the bigger picture, really. Thus,  it would be great to see a more vibrant engagement of the "softer" sciences, much like the way TED talks have also incorporated these into their sessions. I for one could use a much needed break from the left side of my  brain :-). The effect of giving Social scientists more room on skunkworks would probably be that this topic would not be marked "OT", and a more rigorous and objective exchange would ensue. You think so too ?

PS : By the way, much as they are referred to as "soft" sciences I think they are very important, maybe even more important, to real world humans than our kind of science.

--
Ndungi Kyalo


On 9 July 2013 14:01, Martin Akolo Chiteri <martin.chiteri@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello Ndungi, 


On Tue, Jul 9, 2013 at 12:26 PM, Ndungi Kyalo <ndungi@gmail.com> wrote:
Speaking of which, do we have social scientists here ? They may be of great help in designing methods of reforming social psyche.
 
 Well, I know I may not be the best person to comment even though I have a background in Sociology. We have things known as sanctions in society, formal and informal, positive and negative. More here: https://www.boundless.com/sociology/understanding-culture/the-symbolic-nature-of-culture/sanctions/ 

I will give you the example of a ``Losers mug'' in the game of golf. It is taken home by the worst performer in a tournament and it does the same job as seven years in prison would do to a petty crime or a traffic offender. This is basically to reinforce (negative) behaviour in society and reduce the repeat of actions that are frowned upon by people in ordinary circumstances.  

Si hata social scientists and psychologists ni scientists pia ?

These are social scientists, they use the same forms as the ``hard / Physical or exact Sciences'' although their methods / processes may not be as rigorous, which many at times cast a large shadow of doubt on their findings.

Martin.

 I still think there is a scientific approach that would solve us these problems and avoid us having to resort to Thor's hammer.

--
Ndungi Kyalo
neno.co.ke ~ Your word O Lord, lights my $PATH.


On 9 July 2013 12:23, Ndungi Kyalo <ndungi@gmail.com> wrote:
How about raising the penalty to a mandatory jail term . say 5 years ? That will completely discourage people from talking on the phone while driving. How about death sentences for driving on the wrong side? My point is, there is always a severer penalty, which will supposedly end all vice forever and ever. But does it work ? There are other countries where drivers are more civil inspite of lower spot fines (which are less incoveniencing than court fines), conducting themselves much better than we do here. Perhaps we should find out how those societies got to that level of civility and try to inculcate the same here. I however admit that it is much easier to just sit back and impose a death sentence on every offence and watch the backlog of court files drastically reduce.

--
Ndungi Kyalo
neno.co.ke ~ Your word O Lord, lights my $PATH.


On 9 July 2013 01:51, William Muriithi <william.muriithi@gmail.com> wrote:


> The issue with me is the spirit behind the amount. I dont think the amount
> was about safety. And whether we like it or not, this has opened up
> corruption more than ever. Because a typical Kenyan will reason out that
> paying 50k to the state is 'worse' than paying 10k or so to a cop. Will
> that deter the person from talking while driving? I dont know
>

Someone who has propensity to pay a bribe will not stop just because its cheap. They will always go that route as bribe are cheaper than fine.

However, when the fine is high, it forces the bribe to go up too. No police will take 50 Bob if the fine is 50,000. So in a way, mold the drivers as the government intended.

Muriithi

> Interesting research
> here<http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2013/04/03/forget-phones-or-fast-food-more-drivers-cause-their-own-distractions-in-crashes/>shows
> that becoming becoming ?lost in thought? is actually far more


> dangerous than talking on the phone or texting while behind the wheel.
>
> Again, I reiterate, I would never play down the risks associated with phone
> use while driving. It's just that I feel the amounts are a bit arbitrary
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 3:00 PM, Martin Akolo Chiteri <
> martin.chiteri@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > @Bwana Lawi,
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 11:46 AM, Bwana Lawi <mail2lawi@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Does this include talking via hands-free?
> >>
> >> Some people think that hands-free driving is not such a neat idea:
> >
> > 1)
> > http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/04/23/217212/hands-free-or-voice-activated-texting-not-safer
> >
> > 2)
> > http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/06/12/1845226/another-study-confirms-hands-free-texting-while-driving-is-unsafe
> >
> > Martin.
> >
> > While I dont advocate for law breaking, some of these penalties are pretty
> >> harsh.
> >>
> >> Compare https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
> >>
> >>
> >> On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 11:24 AM, Gichuki John Chuksjonia <
> >> chuksjonia@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Why do you have to talk on phone when driving, i cant even pick, even
> >>> when its my mother.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 7/8/13, Benjamin <anangwe@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> > ili iwe funzo
> >>> >
> >>> >
> >>> > On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 11:07 AM, Tony Likhanga <tlikhanga@gmail.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >>> >
> >>> >> Thumbs up Kevin.
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Just do the right thing. In any case the driver will most probably
> >>> never
> >>> >> forget the ordeal.
> >>> >> The fine can not be compared the risk that his act posed to the
> >>> culprit
> >>> >> and other road users.
> >>> >>
> >>> >> Tony.
> >>> >>
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