(is that title the proper English spelling of two kids disagreeing? who knows…)

Andrew Gelman’s enlightening blog points to a great example how scientific research helps us get smarter. He excerpts:

Three articles published [by Brett Pelham et al.] have shown that a disproportionate share of people choose spouses, places to live, and occupations with names similar to their own. These findings, interpreted as evidence of implicit egotism, are included in most modern social psychology textbooks and many university courses. The current article successfully replicates the original findings but shows that they are most likely caused by a combination of cohort, geographic, and ethnic confounds as well as reverse causality.

[Unfortunately, the entire original appears to be behind a paywall.]

The studies done by Pelham suggest some relationship between things like the sound of your first name compared to your profession (Dennis the Dentist, for example). This research then spurred some further research that refutes the claims for various reasons. Gelman pulled a chart from the article with a neat summary here.

Now, some might point to this scenario as an illustration of how useless science is – after all, the original studies have generated conclusions that may not be correct. I think that even though the studies are being called into question, that is the beauty of the scientific process. Otherwise, we are simply stuck with a case of he said, she said with no evidence to back up either conclusion.