Accepting the "world" as pre-given and "real" allows for cognitive efficiency -- as we each encounter contexts and situations where no resources are required to examine our role in such a perception. But this acceptance is a mere shortcut. Individuals lack the capacity to cognize the full complexity of the world, and are thus required to choose which aspects to attend to. Such choices have the effect of reducing the attended world to better match the cognitive capacity of the observer/actor. The choices may be conscious or subconscious. Regardless, these remain choices and, as such, the observer/actor making them would gain self-understanding from an examination of the how and why such choices are made and what the potential impacts of alternative choices might be. A society populated by such reflexive actors would behave differently from one whose actors blindly accept their perceptions as exogenously real. How can we encourage such reflexivity in the society of which we are a part?

   Practitioners of the scientific method usually assert the presence of objectivity with respect to the subjects of their inquiry and resulting conclusions. While objectivity can be a reasonable assumption when the subject matter is abstract, it is but an "as if" when linked to the material or social aspects of the world. Scientists make assumptions/decisions/choices regarding these "as ifs" but seldom articulate the basis for those choices or their own roles in making them. Reflexivity in science is the process of the scientist articulating both the choices and the processes by which they were made. Discussions about such reflexivity have vast potential to "improve" scientific practice.