Fine on Sturgeon

Sociologist Gary Alan Fine is probably best known for his ethnography of role-playing games.  But he’s also written the amusing “Ten Lies of Ethnography.”  Wittiest passage:

Science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon allegedly noted in response to claims that most science fiction is of poor quality that “90 percent of science fiction is crap, but then 90 percent of everything is crap.” Following Sturgeon’s “law,” 90% of all ethnography is crap. Although we should dispute the numbers and should...