Breaking With Theory
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn, changed the way the scientific field viewed progress and evolution. Instead of a linear approach, Kuhn posited that scientific theory advanced from a set of changing intellectual circumstances and possibilities.
To support this concept, Kuhn was the first to popularize the terms paradigm and paradigm shift in a scientific sense. He stated that periodic paradigm shifts mark the emergence of new paradigms of which previous generations could never have conceived.
These shifts essentially constitute a break with the old paradigms and thought processes. Kuhn said, “Rather than being an interpreter, the scientist who embraces a new paradigm is like the man wearing inverting lenses.” The world itself hasn’t changed, but the way the person sees it is completely different.
“Every breakthrough first requires a break-with…a break with tradition, a break with the status quo, a break with the old ways of doing things”
Try looking at a problem wearing inverted lenses… maybe you will see completely different.
