Me, You, and Kuhn: Scientific Revolutions Quiz

Answer: A revolution in the scientific community where the scientific theories/methodologies once subscribed to by members of the community are replaced by an incommensurable theory/methodology

The crisis mentioned in one of the choices above actually leads to the paradigm shift. The term paradigm is tricky to define, but the gist of it is includes: theories meant to explain a particular phenomena (e.g. light), and the methodologies used to affirm the said theory.

Kuhn himself used the term somewhat loosely. Today, the definition of 'paradigm shift' has been bastardized by the layperson to generally mean 'a radical change'.

Answer: FROM Copernicus's heliocentric theory TO Kepler's theory of planetary motion

Kepler's theory of planetary motion actually builds on Copernicus's heliocentric theory; it does not illustrate the radical changes of the views held by the scientific community, as is characterized by a paradigm shift.

Answer: The period when scientists work to affirm (through experimentation) the reigning paradigm

The point of time when no particular theory reigns supreme in the general scientific community is actually a period of disorder from which a future dominant paradigm would arise, i.e. the period from which 'normal science' would develop.

Some infer (Kuhn himself, I believe, does not hold this view) from Kuhn's work that no absolute 'truth' exists, that is, that no scientific theory would ever be able to adequately explain the universe.

Answer: This happens when a dissident theory, which is able to account for phenomena which previously could not be explained by the reigning paradigm, or explains phenomena better, is suggested

According to Kuhn, anomalies in the paradigm would always occur. During periods of normal science, scientists would work towards solving the anomalies, possibly by conducting more experiments in the hope that the previous anomalous data was the result of errors (e.g. Pasteur and his attempts to debunk spontaneous generation), or by altering the original paradigm to account for the anomalies (e.g. Ptolemy's abstruse concept of epicycles within epicycles).

When scientist abandon a paradigm for a new one, a scientific revolution occurs.

(Kuhn did not address the issue of flying pigs, unfortunately.)

Answer: The scientific community generally pooh-poohs (sometimes with much vitriol) the dissident theories, and go out of their way to disprove them

The reactions to dissident theories were often very colorful: reactions to Darwin's theory of evolution was very prominently barbed, as were those to Copernicus's geocentric theory (interestingly, both reactions were partially rooted in the religious fervor of the Roman Catholic Church). Scientists certainly do not welcome dissident theories with open arms, and do generally strive to refute them, with good reason of course (cold fusion, anyone?).

Technically, 'They raise their hind quarters and urinate on them' is, figuratively speaking, not incorrect, but I was going for a more literal answer. Give yourself brownie points if you chose that anyway!

Answer: Conform to the reigning paradigm, and contribute to the act of 'normal science' by affirming the paradigm

Scientists do not generally work to overthrow the current paradigm, nor do they ignore anomalies; they actually work to stretch the current paradigm such that it accounts for the anomalies.

Answer: Yes

Kuhn proposes that this loyal group of adherents chooses to espouse the dissident theory not entirely due to rational reasons. He even suggests that the nationalities or personalities of the proponents of the dissident theory could influence the decision of whether a revision to the current paradigm is to be undertaken by the scientific community.

Answer: False

Kuhn postulates that rival paradigms are not comparable, or commensurable. He believed that the incommensurability of paradigms are rooted in three different elements: methodological (i.e. the paradigms cannot be compared due to the disjunct methods of evaluation), observational (i.e. evidence collected through observation cannot be a basis of comparison, as perception of evidence is theory-dependent), and semantic (paradigms used language differently, and hence it is difficult to juxtapose paradigms since certain terms could not be easily translated into another paradigm).

Answer: Puzzle-solving

Kuhn refers to the process where scientists affirm the reigning paradigm through experiments as 'puzzle-solving'. This term suggests that the so-called 'puzzle' is familiar, that there is a high probability of solving the 'puzzle', and that a conventional method of solving the 'puzzle' exists.

Answer: All the options are probable

The existence/non-existence of the Higgs boson is an example of a conundrum which was previously unsolvable due to a lack of suitable technology. The Large Hadron Collider on the Franco-Swiss border (operational since 2009) is expected to provide some answers on the issue.