Re: Sapir-WhorFreakiness

Thomas R. Wier scripsit:

> Now that I look at the other article, John's supposition seems highly
> likely to me.  Another possibility is not a nice one:  the informants
> simply lied to the researchers.
Of course the lies could take the form of suppressio veri and suggestio
falsi.

> There's a famous case of concerning Margaret Mead's research on Samoan
> women who later admitted to having lied that their lives were full of
> promiscuity (a fact upon which Mead based much of her findings).
Well, we have Freedman's statements and Mead's, and they are inconsistent;
so either the Samoans lied to Mead, or they lied to Freedman, or Freedman
lied, or Mead lied, or some combination.  It's no accident that situations
where lies are pervasive are so often compared to swamps -- if there is
solid footing anywhere, nobody knows where it is.

(For myself, I find Mead more convincing than Freedman; I also met Mead
personally, if briefly, and judged her to be a person of character.)
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"But I am the real Strider, fortunately,"       John Cowan
he said, looking down at them with his face     jcowan@reutershealth.com
softened by a sudden smile.  "I am Aragorn son  http://www.ccil.org/~/cowan
of Arathorn, and if by life or death I can      http://www.reutershealth.com
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