Space Social Sciences

The study of how human societies imagine, fund, and react to the cosmos, from ancient star-worshippers to modern Mars-colony dreamers. It examines why we project our hopes and fears onto the heavens (aliens will save us / aliens will eat us), how space discoveries reshape culture (the Earthrise photo changed everything), and why billionaires are so obsessed with space (it's the ultimate gated community). Space social sciences reveal that the cosmos is a mirror, reflecting not what's out there, but what we bring to it.

Example: "A space social sciences study analyzed why Mars colonization captures the imagination while ocean exploration doesn't. The conclusion: space feels like the future; the ocean feels like the past. Also, Mars doesn't have sharks, which is a significant advantage in the public perception department."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Spacetime Social Sciences

The study of how human societies understand, represent, and are shaped by concepts of space and time, from ancient calendars to modern time zones to the weird feeling that time speeds up as you age. It examines why different cultures have different relationships with punctuality (some see time as a line, others as a circle, others as a suggestion), how space and time structure social life (work here, live there, do it now, not later), and what happens when our technologies collapse spacetime (instant global communication means you can be harassed by your boss from anywhere, at any time—thanks, progress).

Example: "A spacetime social sciences study examined why meetings always run long. The conclusion: humans have a poor intuitive grasp of time, compounded by optimism (we can do five things in an hour), social pressure (no one wants to be the first to leave), and the fact that the person who scheduled the meeting didn't account for the spacetime curvature caused by their own ego, which bends time around them so they always have 'just one more thing.'"

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Spacetime-Probability Social Sciences

The study of how human societies would organize themselves if everyone knew that all possible outcomes exist somewhere in the probability dimension. How do you build consensus when every decision branches into infinite alternatives? How do you punish crime when the criminal exists in branches where they didn't do it? And how do you manage relationships when you know there's a version of your partner who loves you, a version who tolerates you, and a version who has already moved to another dimension and started a new life with someone else? Spacetime-probability social sciences suggest that societies in such a reality would either achieve perfect peace (nothing matters, everything exists) or collapse into utter chaos (nothing matters, everything exists).

Spacetime-Probability Social Sciences Example: "A spacetime-probability social sciences study examined how couples would function if they could see all possible versions of their relationship. The researchers found that most couples, when shown a branch where they were happier, immediately became unhappy with their current branch. When shown a branch where they were miserable, they felt relieved—until they realized that version of them was also suffering. The study concluded that infinite knowledge is terrible for relationships and recommended blissful ignorance."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Spectralism (Social Sciences)

A methodological approach to studying society that prioritizes the analysis of absences, margins, and silenced voices. It posits that a society is defined as much by what it forgets, excludes, or renders invisible as by its dominant narratives and institutions. A spectral sociologist studies the "hauntings" of history—like the lingering trauma of colonialism in modern economic structures, or the unspoken grief that shapes a community's identity. It’s about reading the footnotes of history as closely as the main text, because that's where the ghosts live.

Spectralism (Social Sciences) Example:
"That gentrification study was classic Spectralism. It didn't just map the new coffee shops; it mapped the displaced communities, the closed businesses, and the erased cultural memory. The new neighborhood is literally haunted by the ghost of the old one."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Spectrumism (Social Sciences)

An analytical lens that deconstructs social categories—such as race, class, gender, and sexuality—by revealing them to be socially constructed spectrums rather than natural binaries. It examines how societies create and enforce sharp boundaries (like the one-drop rule) to manage what is inherently a continuum of human variation and identity. A Spectrumist analysis of poverty wouldn't just look at the "poor" and "rich," but at the entire gradient of economic insecurity, from the precariously housed to the ultra-wealthy.

Spectrumism (Social Sciences) Example:
"The census form only had 'Male' and 'Female' boxes. That's the opposite of Spectrumism. A Spectrumist approach would be a slider from 0 to 100, or even better, a color wheel of identity."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Fractalism (Social Sciences)

An approach that analyzes social phenomena as self-similar patterns that repeat across different levels of social organization. The dynamics of a couple fighting are the same as the dynamics of two rival gangs, which are the same as two feuding nations. An act of microaggression in a classroom is the fractal signature of systemic racism at a national level. Social change, then, requires intervening at all scales simultaneously, as a change in the macro-pattern will eventually ripple down to the micro-level, and vice-versa.

Fractalism (Social Sciences) "That viral video of someone being rude in a store isn't just one bad day. Fractalism says it's the same pattern as the company's exploitative labor practices, just zoomed in. Rudeness is the fractal structure of the corporation's values, visible at the human scale."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Methods of Study in the Social Sciences

The notoriously messy toolkit used to study human behavior, which refuses to sit still for clean measurement like chemicals or cells. These methods include surveys (asking people what they do, getting what they say they do), interviews (asking deeply, getting complicated stories), ethnography (living with people until they forget you're watching), statistical analysis (finding patterns in chaos), and case studies (going deep on one thing, sacrificing breadth). Unlike physics, social science methods must grapple with reflexive subjects who change when studied, cultural contexts that shift meaning, and the small problem that the researchers are also humans with biases. It's science, but science with feelings.

"I tried to apply the Methods of Study in the Social Sciences to my family Thanksgiving. Let's just say participant observation gets awkward when your participants know you're observing and demand to know what you're writing."

by Dumu The Void February 23, 2026