SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES - THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE, OBJECTIVITY,AND DOMINANCE

The scientific method is a tool for the construction and justification of dominance in the world. The invention of statistics was a major me thodological advance in the descriptive sciences causing a shift from descriptive analysis to mathematical analysis. The new methodological techniques were invented by men who were interested in explaining the inheritance of traits in order to support their political ideology of natural human superiority and inferiority. The statistical techniques transformed the scientific method and resulted in a process that const ructs knowledge and establishes ''significant differences'' between th e dominant group as the norm and the subordinate group as the ''Other. '' The five steps in the process that integrates domination into the s cientific method and results in the scientific construction the Other are: (a) Naming, (b) Quantification, (c) Statistical Analysis. (d) Rei fication, and (e) Objectification.