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Comment by rwmj | Hacker News Reader

If you're comparing critical mass in physics with critical mass in sociology, I already know you're full of it without needing to read any further.

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> The concept can explain everything from viral cat videos to why changing habits is so hard.

Somehow this line persuades me of exactly the opposite.

Why?

Because claims that one singular concept or idea can explain pretty much everything in life have, historically, been quite false. Worse, such claims tend to attract people who like to have one simple solution for everything, or like to have one single thing that's root of all evil, or like to have one simple explanation for everything, etc. The damage such people can incur, especially when equipped with a grandiose enough concept, have (again, historically) been quite incredible.

Thanks for explaining!

Upon reflection I believe polarization helps to draw attention.

We love black and white as species. Nuances get lost way to often.

Indeed! Reaching the critical mass in a nuclear reaction pushes things apart, while reaching the critical mass in a social movement helps pull even.more participants.

Is there not a value in drawing interdisciplinary ties between fields? Physics underpins reality, would it not be feasible that it's laws scale to higher order complexities?

See Pepsi rebrand for answer.

Curious what conclusion you draw from this. Care to elaborate?

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My guess is it's a reference to this document [0], arguing that interdisciplinary research is indistinguishable from it. Not sure I agree, honestly.

[0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pepsis-nonsensical-logo-redesig...

That seems like a shallow dismissal

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