Dealing with a Shifting Paradigm -TS Kuhn

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Dealing with a shifting paradigm.

Kaufman RP.

In 1970, T. S. Kuhn, in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

argued that scientists work by creating a comprehensive model--a

model he called " a paradigm. " A paradigm, Kuhn said, is an

encompassing world view that tells us what facts to pay attention to

and what to ignore. He contended that, although we may think that we

consider all the facts and ask all the questions, there is always

some ordering and selection going on, and we must first be prepared

by our paradigm to make sense of what we see. He stated that one of

the first signs that a paradigm is shifting is the discovery of

facts that seem significant and indisputably true but cannot be

explained by the current model. The essential elements, according to

Kuhn, that are required for a paradigm to shift are a strong

stimulus, a rapidly changing environment, and the realization that

whether the change is good or bad is essentially of no significance.

The parties most closely involved are frequently the last to

appreciate that the shift has occurred.

PMID: 10312134 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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