thermometer.png

Thermometer

Chapter 9 - The Natural Sciences(AoK)

brain.png

Brain

Chapter 1 - Knowledge & The Knower(Core)

laptop.png

Laptop

Chapter 2 - Knowledge & Technology(Optional)

busts-in-silhouette.png

Busts In Silhouette

Chapter 3 - Knowledge & Language(Optional)

globe-showing-europe-africa.png

Globe Showing Europe Africa

Chapter 4 - Knowledge & Politics(Optional)

books.png

Books

Chapter 5 - Knowledge & Religion(Optional)

herb.png

Herb

Chapter 6 - Knowledge & Indigenous Societies(Optional)

page-facing-up.png

Page Facing Up

Chapter 7 - History(AoK)

microscope.png

Microscope

Chapter 8 - The Human Sciences(AoK)

performing-arts.png

Performing Arts

Chapter 10 - The Arts(AoK)

straight-ruler.png

Straight-Ruler

Chapter 11 - Mathematics(AoK)

clipboard.png

Clipboard

Chapter 12 - ToK Exhibition

memo.png

Memo

Chapter 13 - ToK Essay

Fun fact: Did you know the way we perceive science was completely revamped in 1962? Yep, your textbooks were literally rewritten!

<ul>
	<li>
	Thomas Kuhn wrote a game-changing book called &quot;The Structure of Scientific Revolutions&quot; in 1962.
	</li>
	<li>
	He suggested that science doesn&#39;t progress linearly (like we&#39;re just building Lego blocks one on top of the other). Instead, he saw science as a roller coaster with periods of normalcy disrupted by revolutionary twists and turns.
	</li>
	<li>
	These revolutions are termed as &quot;Paradigm Shifts&quot; &ndash; imagine your science textbook suddenly getting a complete makeover!
	</li>
	<li>
	But why did Kuhn believe science wasn&#39;t totally objective?
	</li>
</ul>

🔬 For instance, imagine you&#39;re part of a team building the first-ever rocket to Mars. Everyone on the team has the same &quot;paradigm&quot; or way of thinking about how to build this rocket. Then a new engineer joins with a completely different approach. Will this new idea be readily accepted or questioned based on the existing paradigm? Kuhn suggests that these decisions are influenced by subjective elements, and that&#39;s why science isn&#39;t 100% objective.

<ul>
	<li>This theory of Kuhn kind of ruffled the feathers of our previous understanding, as most of us thought science was about proving theories wrong (an idea championed by Popper known as Falsification).</li>
	<li>
	However, Kuhn pointed out that anomalies, results that contradict a theory, are often swept under the rug instead of causing instant dismissal of a theory.
	</li>
	<li>
	Imagine your rocket experiment failing because of a small glitch. Will you abandon the entire project, or will you try to find what went wrong and fix it? Kuhn suggested that scientists tend to do the latter.
	</li>
	<li>
	Paradigm shifts occur when anomalies pile up like your unread emails and a new theory arises that can better explain them.
	</li>
	<li>The shift from one paradigm to another can be influenced by non-scientific factors like who&#39;s got the biggest research grant, whose idea is more famous, or even national interests.</li>
</ul>

Let&#39;s look at some famous examples of paradigm shifts throughout history:

<ul>
	<li>
	The Copernican Revolution (1542): Imagine waking up one day to learn that you&#39;re not living at the center of the universe! That&#39;s what happened when Copernicus showed that Earth revolves around the Sun, not the other way round.
	</li>
	<li>
	Newton replacing Aristotle (1687): Think of it like replacing an old smartphone with a new model. Newton&#39;s laws of motion provided a better understanding of the physical world than Aristotle&#39;s theories.
	</li>
	<li>
	Chemical Revolution (1783): Lavoisier&rsquo;s theories replaced the phlogiston theory like upgrading from a horse cart to a car.
	</li>
	<li>
	Darwin&#39;s Theory of Natural Selection (1859): Darwin shocked the world when he suggested that species evolve over time through natural selection &ndash; like the reality show &quot;Survivor,&quot; but for animals!
	</li>
	<li>
	Germ Theory of Disease (1880): People understood that germs, not evil spirits or bad air, cause diseases.
	</li>
	<li>
	Quantum Mechanics (1905): Classical mechanics was replaced by a whole new set of principles, similar to switching from a manual to an automatic car.
	</li>
	<li>
	Einstein&rsquo;s General Relativity (1919): This is like discovering a whole new level in a video game. Einstein&#39;s theory replaced Newton&#39;s law of gravity, reshaping our understanding of the universe.
	</li>
</ul>

It&#39;s been quiet in natural science for over a century now. Does that mean we&#39;re overdue for another revolution or have we just become really good at managing anomalies? Or perhaps the revolutions are now faster and less disruptive? Food for thought, right?

&nbsp;

<h4>Keep on exploring, future scientist! 💡🌍</h4>

&nbsp;

These notes aim to make your TOK journey more fun and insightful. Remember, science is like an endless mystery &ndash; full of plot twists and cliffhangers!

Unraveling Scientific Consensus: The Duesberg Controversy

core.webp

Core

Theory of Knowledge

Chapter 9 - The Natural Sciences(AoK)

Unraveling Scientific Consensus: The Duesberg Controversy

Table of content

🕰️ Thomas kuhn's concept of paradigm shifts 🔄

Unlock the Full Content!

Chapter 9 - The Natural Sciences(AoK)

Unraveling Scientific Consensus: The Duesberg Controversy

Table of content

🕰️ Thomas kuhn's concept of paradigm shifts 🔄

Unlock the Full Content!