- I think I’ve heard of this before, it’s about the concept of paradigm and paradigm shift in science.
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In this work, Kuhn uses the concept of paradigm, which refers to the approved scientific achievements that provide researchers with models and solutions for a certain period of time in science, to reexamine the progress of scientific history. He argues that the history of science should be understood as a gradual process of paradigm shifts rather than a cumulative progress based on the accumulation of research. It seems similar to Exploring New Models through Implementation.
- This process of generating “new models” seems to be the scientific revolution.
Scientists can have no recourse above or beyond what they see with their eyes and instruments, so if perceptual switches accompany paradigm changes, scientists may not attest to these changes directly. Indirect and behavioral evidence must be looked for to discover what sorts of transformations in the scientist’s world occur. The discovery of Uranus by William Herschel provides an example of a paradigm shift, as it was observed as a star for almost a century before being seen differently as a planet after it could no longer be fitted to the perceptual categories provided by the previous paradigm. The discovery of numerous minor planets or asteroids after 1801 was aided by astronomers’ preparedness for new planets after Herschel’s discovery The history of astronomy provides many examples of paradigm-induced changes in scientific perception.