Convince Me That Genealogy Is A Science Donald Lines Jacobus, MA, FASG of New Haven, Connecticut, wrote an article in The American Genealogist, Volume 10, Page 65 (October 1933), entitled: Is Genealogy An Exact Science? http://www.progenealogists.com/exactscience.htm Professional genealogists or family historians use primary information for direct observation and personal evaluation. The first item at SCIENTISTS and TEACHERS, concerns Stephen J Danko's: Applying the Scientific Method. He believes "that genealogists obtain information by observation or experimentation - the very definition of how one obtains information in any empirical science". http://www.academic-genealogy.com/science.htm#scientists Nevertheless, my observation in the use of professional skill to obtain further data, in tracing back family lineages, relies fundamentally upon record sources that relate to the core economic foundation documents of individuals and family units. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_economics History is not clearly understood, unless careful consideration is given to the Industrial Revolution, [a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of the times. It began in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spread throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in human history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution Prior to this time, essentially, traditional family economics were basically connected to kinship-based reciprocity, which kept the various regional and sectional traditional societies together, from commanding royalty to the least of souls in the social hierarchy. Professor William T. O’Hara wrote Centuries of Success. http://www.amazon.com/William-T.-OHara/e/B001K8B90G “Before the multinational corporation, there was family business. Before the Industrial Revolution, there was family business. Before the enlightenment of Greece and the empire of Rome, there was family business.” http://www.griequity.com/resources/industryandissues/familybusiness/oldestinworld.html Adam Smith wrote, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." In other words, from a genealogical standpoint, this would be regarded as essentially connected to kinship-based reciprocity of the butcher's kin, the brewer's kin or the baker's kin; then, later modified into the more independent "Economic Man" or lately, "Economic Woman", modern connections outside the family unit that are more prevalent to personal interests. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3083230 It is impossible to search for records appropriately, unless proper consideration is given to each family unit, as they relate over time, to this new social order, based on major industrial change. Thus I have clearly stated heretofore, the essential need for extrapolating trends into the past, as a function of conditions, characteristics and data records, endogenous to current variables in family performance. The scientific method may be used to specifically evaluate the credibility of variously layered record sources over time, using stringent standards of professional evaluation; nevertheless, the accumulating direction is in my mind, a basic process of economic projection methodology, if done properly, using present data to "forecast"; i.e., to find past data points on an individual's pedigree. Again, this "genealogical perspective" is a scientific method of looking to the past, by using a "reverse" process of economic projection methodology; i.e., [an absent or imagined person (prior to genealogical confirmation from primary source documentation) is figured forth -- the "face created" as the Greek suggests -- in words, as if present (after the pedigree is established according to the current genealogical proof standard).] http://www.academic-genealogy.com/academiceducationlearningresources.htm Respectfully yours, V. Chris & Tom Tinney, Sr. http://www.academic-genealogy.com/