[istjohn]

It's not useful. In fact, it's actively harmful. The constant churn of findings and retractions undermines the public's belief in science. When people stop believing in science, you get things like flat earthers, global warming deniers, and vaccine skeptics.

[unityByFreedom]

The quibble here is whether social science is a science. Here's a good overview, including a video of Feynman which the HN crowd may appreciate:

https://www.quora.com/Is-social-science-a-real-science/answe...

Humanity is observable. It's just hard to collect the data. I think you can make the case that some science isn't as rigorous, or that the jury is still out, but to say that it isn't science at all is wrong in my opinion. Even Feynman acknowledges that conclusions may be drawn later.

Aristotle philosophized quite a bit and is considered an early contributor to the scientific method. More food for thought:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/is-social-s...

[istjohn]

I think social science is clearly possible. The question is whether what passes for social science in our scientific journals deserve the label.

[unityByFreedom]

That is a much more reasonable question that I think would be up to the journal, and you as a reader.