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a way of thinking constrained by overarching theories, assumptions and ways of doing things
{{merge|paradigm shift}}
{{merge|paradigm shift}}
A '''paradigm''' is a way of thinking constrained by overarching theories, assumptions and ways of doing things. A simple example is cutting off the ends of the meatloaf before putting it in the pan, in accordance with an old family recipe. The husband asked his wife why she did it; she asked her mother, who asked the grandmother, who said that the great-grandmother didn't have a large enough pan.
A more poignant example is given by Stephen Covey in ''The Seven Habits of Successful People''. He was riding in a subway car when a man and his children entered. They children ran around the car disturbing other passengers, snatching newspapers out of their hands, etc. With what he thought was great restraint, Covey asked the man if he would control his children better. The man said that he supposed he should but he didn't know what or how ... he had just come from the hospital where his wife had died an hour ago. Covey's attitude towards the man and his children changed '''instantly'''. This is a "paradigm shift"
*The term refers to the relatively routine work of scientists experimenting within a paradigm, slowly accumulating detail in accord with established broad theory, not actually challenging or attempting to test the underlying assumptions of that theory.
In the ''Structure of Scientific Revolutions'', [[Kuhn]] asserts that there are paradigms under which a scientific community operates. Someone working within the paradigm makes certain assumptions and fails to question those basic assumptions to the point that he or she is not even aware they exist. [http://www.physics.uncc.edu/physstaff/mhdancy/papers/Dancy_gender.pdf]
In the ''Structure of Scientific Revolutions'', [[Kuhn]] asserts that there are paradigms under which a scientific community operates. Someone working within the paradigm makes certain assumptions and fails to question those basic assumptions to the point that he or she is not even aware they exist. [http://www.physics.uncc.edu/physstaff/mhdancy/papers/Dancy_gender.pdf]