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Chapter 1
The Paradigm
e future ain’t what it used to be.
—Yogi Berra
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The Paradigm
e dictionary definition of paradigm is a key model, pattern, or method used to
achieve certain goals or objectives. Historian of science omas Kuhn, in his influ-
ential book e Structure of Scientific Revolutions, gave “paradigm” its contemporary
meaning: the set of practices that define a scientific discipline during a particular
period of time—in other words, a habit of reasoning at a given moment in history,
the standard model for how people are expected to conceive and solve problems.
However, in his book, Kuhn defines a scientific paradigm as:
◾ What is to be obser ...