Are there "errors in translation"? Sure — all the time. Science is largely the process of figuring those out, where our understanding lacks.
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In the sense meant by social construction, yes. They are created by society, by social practices. They certainly don't just grow on trees.
They are made to satisfy certain social goals, of certain societies. Over time, those goals have shifted a bit—hence the weapons have, too.
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Their creation, deployment, and use are all dictated by social practices. And indeed, the weapons themselves may dictate some practices—
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for example, they tend to require secrecy in the organizations that create them.
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Does that make the weapons not real? Of course not. They're real. Society making something doesn't make it non-real.
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Money is a social construct — but you still have to pay the bills.
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Race is a social construct — a fact that won't help you if you're an African-American in a dodgy traffic stop.
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Just because things are social constructs doesn't mean they can't have power or be real in the world. Social construction ≠ solipsism.
End of conversation
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