Metaphysical Social Sciences

The study of how groups of people collectively shape, and are shaped by, metaphysical beliefs and experiences. It examines the social dynamics of UFO convention attendees, the hierarchy of Reiki master circles, and the unspoken rules of the new age bookstore (thou shalt not mock the angel cards). It explores how shared beliefs in the unseen create community, establish status, and occasionally lead to conflict over whose unseen being is more powerful. It's anthropology for people who believe in fairies.

Example: "A study in metaphysical social sciences observed that at psychic fairs, the booths with the most elaborate purple velvet drapes consistently attracted more clients, regardless of the psychic's actual accuracy. It confirmed that in the realm of the unseen, presentation is 90% of the game."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Metasocial Social Sciences

The recursive discipline of applying social scientific methods to the community of social scientists themselves. It's the study of the academic tribes, their rituals (conferences), their status symbols (citations, tenure), and their origin myths (the "founding fathers"). It examines why certain theories become fashionable and others are forgotten, why some departments are feuding and others are allied, and why the phrase "paradigm shift" is used so often it has lost all meaning. It's sociology for sociologists, and it requires a high tolerance for inside jokes.

Example: "A metasocial social sciences study observed that papers with longer titles and more complex jargon were cited more frequently, regardless of their actual content. This confirmed what every grad student suspected: in academia, sounding smart is often more important than being smart."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Metacognitive Social Sciences

The study of how groups of people collectively think about their own thinking, and how that shared metacognition shapes their culture, communication, and conflicts. It examines phenomena like "groupthink about groupthink," where a committee spends hours discussing how to avoid wasting time in meetings. It analyzes why certain communities develop elaborate jargon to describe their own internal thought processes (e.g., tech bros "circling back" on "mental bandwidth"), and how entire societies can collectively obsess over their own collective obsession (e.g., "the discourse about the discourse").

Example: "The company retreat was a masterclass in metacognitive social sciences. The entire team spent three hours discussing how they could have better discussions. They then scheduled another meeting to discuss the discussion about discussions. No actual work was done, but everyone felt very self-aware."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Metalogical Social Sciences

The study of how groups of people develop, adopt, and enforce shared systems of logic and reasoning. It examines why certain cultures value deductive reasoning over inductive, why academic departments feud over methodological approaches (qualitative vs. quantitative), and why some online communities have completely different standards for what counts as a "valid argument." It's the field that asks: if logic is universal, why do two reasonable people looking at the same facts so often reach completely different, yet internally logical, conclusions? The answer, usually, is tribalism.

Example: "A study in metalogical social sciences compared Reddit and Twitter argumentation styles. It found that Reddit favored lengthy, source-cited deductive arguments, while Twitter favored pithy, emotionally resonant assertions. Both communities considered the other's logic to be fundamentally broken, confirming that logic is often just whatever your in-group agrees upon."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Epistemological Social Sciences

The study of how groups of people collectively acquire, validate, and transmit knowledge, examining everything from scientific communities to conspiracy theory forums. It asks why some knowledge spreads and other knowledge dies, how communities establish trust in sources, and why your aunt believes Facebook posts more than peer-reviewed studies. Epistemological social sciences reveal that knowledge is not just a collection of facts but a social process, shaped by trust, identity, and whether the information confirms what the group already wants to believe.

Example: "An epistemological social sciences study compared how scientists and flat-Earthers validate claims. Scientists used peer review, replication, and evidence. Flat-Earthers used YouTube comments, feelings, and the conviction that everyone else is lying. Both groups considered themselves epistemologically rigorous. Only one group had satellites."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Formal Social Sciences

The attempt to apply the methods of formal sciences—mathematics, logic, abstract modeling—to the study of human society, with predictably mixed results. Game theory explains why people cooperate (sometimes), social network analysis maps who talks to whom (approximately), and formal models of political behavior predict elections (except when they don't). The challenge is that humans are not logical symbols; we are messy, contradictory, and prone to doing things just because. Formal social sciences are what happen when mathematicians discover that people refuse to follow the rules.

Example: "A formal social sciences study used game theory to prove that rational actors would never start a war, as the costs always outweigh the benefits. The researchers then looked at human history, which is basically a list of wars, and concluded that humans are either irrational or playing a different game. Probably both."

by Abzugal February 14, 2026

Psionic Social Sciences

The study of how groups of people pursuing psionic development interact, form communities, and establish social norms around abilities that are, at best, unproven. It examines the hierarchy of psionic forums (newbies ask questions, intermediates give confident answers, experts just post cryptic emojis), the phenomenon of "psionic dueling" (two people pretending to fight with mind energy while standing perfectly still), and the complex etiquette of "psionic shielding" (everyone claims to have impenetrable mental defenses, yet everyone also claims to feel everyone else's energy).

Example: "A psionic social sciences study observed an online community where members regularly reported 'psionic attacks' from rival groups. The researchers noted that these attacks always coincided with disagreements about forum rules, suggesting that psionic warfare was indistinguishable from regular internet drama, just with more talk about 'energetic boundaries.'"

by Nammugal February 14, 2026