ABSTRACT
T he most common, if regressive, complaint about sociology as a science is that it fails to produce cumulative knowledge. e eld may be properly divided into those who agree and those who don’t care one way or the other. ose who care, however, care very much-to the point of dismissing the careless as a curse on their high scientic aspirations. In real life, the dierences matter hardly at all. e scientic sociologists with an interest in cumulative knowledge do not read or talk with, although they may occasionally socialize with, the others-if only because, as in all walks of life, the careless tend to be more fun.
