Well-Ordered Science

Taught by: Dr Yunus Prasetya

Reviews

AY 25/26, Sem 2

Content (Structure/Organization): 

This course follows different stages of well-ordered Science, but not in chronological order. In other words, there is jumping between the original ordering of the stages of "well-ordered" Science. This can mean that the flow of appreciating this concept as a whole could be more abrupt. However, the use of case studies does aid the understanding and applications of some concepts.

The first half of the course is more quantitative in nature (ie Bayesian theory and probabilities) while the second half of the course is more qualitative (ie ethical considerations) so the course will be easy or difficult depending on your strong suits at different junctures

Manageability of Workload: 

Workload in general was reasonable. It requires an Field Experiment, Mid-Term Exam, an Essay and Final Poster Submission. However, do note that some time would be needed to digest the concepts thought (esp if you're weak in probabilistic reasoning) as this course does delve into that.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:

Prof Yunus is fair in his grading. Overall, a B+/A- should be attainable consistent with most NUSC Course if you put in effort.

Learning Value/Recommendation: 

Learning value of this course is overall okay. I think that the most meaningful components of these causes were when we applied concepts to real-world issues. However, if you do enjoy Bayesian/Probabilistic Reasoning, this could be a interesting course for you.

About the Instructor:

Prof Yunus has tried his best to facilitate discussions during seminars. Prof Yunus has also been extremely willing to hold consults and out-of-class discussions to assist us with the understanding of the content. Nevertheless, there can be times where it is a little difficult to follow the key takeaway intended

AY 25/26, Sem 2

Content (Structure/Organization): 

The course was poorly structured as the link between the first and second half needs to be more apparent. I also feel that the first half on Bayes' Theorem probability calculations and drawing DAGs is needlessly painful. I feel that the first half should be more philosophical about Bayesianism or Causality rather than going into all the technical calculations and logic problems.

It is also not well-designed as a whole for NUSC because for the poster, we are examined by other profs, but I feel like they do not get the point of our specific theme in NSS which was well-ordered science. So during the Q&A, I feel like they missed the forest for the trees and it was artificially or needlessly difficult, so I don't know what learning was achieved.

Having the field experiment also feels very disjointed from the rest of the course.

Manageability of Workload: 

Workload is manageable. 1 Field Experiment + Report, 1 Essay + Short oral defence of it, 1 Final Poster.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:

Getting A is achievable if you have a logical and analytical mind for the first half and you are interested in the scientific publishing process / scientific fraud, or the application of scientific knowledge in breast cancer screenings, sports concussions, and global health impact for the second half. Prof is fair with his grades.

Learning Value/Recommendation: 

Though this course was quite messy, I have to reluctantly say that this course has refined my thinking about causality and how one can come to make a claim, and made me more critical of science, but also giving me a picture of what an ideal scientific research process could look like, which is essentially just a microcosm for how we should plan and organise society as a whole.

About the Instructor:

He was not able to explain concepts simply and intuitively in the first half e.g. the different causal models, so it becomes hard to grasp them.The knowledge was quite inaccessible.

He needs to link the first part of the course more to the second part which is about well-ordered science e.g. how is Bayesianism and DAGs related to ideal deliberation or something? He also needs to explain more clearly what exactly is well-ordered science and keep going back to its theses because I feel like I only understand one aspect of it but do not get the whole picture.

However, the consults with Prof were really useful and he gave a lot of advice and explanation. I arguably learnt as much during consults as during the lessons.