Talk:Social inertia

Untitled
Hi Everyone, I'll be editing this page as part of a course assignment and through the APS WikiProject collaboration. I will be expanding it from its current stub format and adding examples. Wenwenni (talk) 03:57, 20 November 2013 (UTC)Wenwenni


 * This important concept bears significantly on any understanding of current social phenomena as well as the very process by which changes occur in a society. The term can be used to explain 1.) the persistence of religious doctrine 2.) the continued use of fossil fuels 3.) why languages retain a high degree of constancy (in any given period) despite a considerable rate of change.
 * Despite the obvious utility of this term it is not widely used or even understood outside of academic contexts.

POV
An example of social inertia can be noticed in United States inconformity with the SI standard units (see metric system in the United States for details.)

This sounds a bit loaded against non-SI-units to me. By whose standards is not adopting a particular measurement system considered 'inertia', and how can these standards be defended without resorting to a particular point of view? I think it should be rephrased better or replaced with a less controversial example. An Edwardian Sunday (talk) 03:42, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Sociology Example
I replaced the word "myth" with the word "fact" and inserted "for some" after "social mobility".

I did so fully recognizing that this may spark a political debate, however, I did not do so for political purposes.

It is simply not true that equal opportunity and social mobility are "myths". The historical proofs are simply too numerous to mention. The flat, and unsourced (because it can't be) statement that they are myths is political, and has no place in any reference material (Wikipedia or otherwise) claiming objectivity. On the other hand, it is equally true that many elite groups and families manage to maintain their position over time and despite social change. Thus the qualifying language "for some" tries to address this limited fluidity without engaging in absolutist, doctrinaire, political drumbeating masquerading as a statement of the obvious. Natcolley (talk) 14:56, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Without cited sources, you cannot make that assertion. The paragraph you changed was citing a book and the content of the paragraph relates the content of the book.  Chris Troutman  ( talk ) 18:18, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program course assignment
This article is the subject of an educational assignment at University of California, Los Angeles supported by WikiProject Psychology and the Wikipedia Ambassador Program&#32;during the 2013 Fall term. Further details are available on the course page.

The above message was substituted from by PrimeBOT (talk) on 16:19, 2 January 2023 (UTC)