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"Exemplars" directs here. For the superpowered comic book team, see Exemplars (comics).
Exemplar, in the sense developed by philosopher of science
Philosophy of science

The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, and implications of science. The field is defined by an interest in one of a set of "traditional" problems or an interest in central or foundational concerns in science....
 Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn

Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an United States intellectual who wrote extensively on the history of science and developed several important notions in the philosophy of science....
, is a well known usage of a scientific theory.

According to Kuhn, scientific practice alternates between periods of normal science
Normal science

Normal science is a concept originated by Thomas Samuel Kuhn and elaborated in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 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 underly...
 and extraordinary/revolutionary science. During periods of normalcy, scientists tend to subscribe to a large body of interconnecting knowledge, methods, and assumptions which make up the reigning paradigm
Paradigm

The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
 (see paradigm shift
Paradigm shift

Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Samuel Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science....
 for more information on Kuhn's model).






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"Exemplars" directs here. For the superpowered comic book team, see Exemplars (comics).
Exemplar, in the sense developed by philosopher of science
Philosophy of science

The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, and implications of science. The field is defined by an interest in one of a set of "traditional" problems or an interest in central or foundational concerns in science....
 Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Samuel Kuhn

Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an United States intellectual who wrote extensively on the history of science and developed several important notions in the philosophy of science....
, is a well known usage of a scientific theory.

According to Kuhn, scientific practice alternates between periods of normal science
Normal science

Normal science is a concept originated by Thomas Samuel Kuhn and elaborated in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 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 underly...
 and extraordinary/revolutionary science. During periods of normalcy, scientists tend to subscribe to a large body of interconnecting knowledge, methods, and assumptions which make up the reigning paradigm
Paradigm

The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
 (see paradigm shift
Paradigm shift

Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Samuel Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science....
 for more information on Kuhn's model). Normal science presents a series of "puzzles" that are solved as scientists explore their field. The solution to some of these puzzles become well known and are the exemplars of the field.

Kuhn introduced the concept of exemplar in a postscript to the second edition of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , by Thomas Samuel Kuhn, is an analysis of the history of science. Its publication was a landmark event in the sociology of knowledge, and popularized the terms paradigm and paradigm shift....
 (1970). He noted that
[b]ecause the term [paradigm] has assumed a life of its own ... I shall here substitute ‘exemplars.’ By it I mean, initially, the concrete problem-solutions that students encounter from the start of their scientific education, whether in laboratories, on examinations, or at the ends of chapters in science texts. ... All physicists, for example, begin by learning the same exemplars: problems such as the inclined plane
Inclined plane

The inclined plane is one of the original six simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights....
, the conical pendulum
Pendulum

A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so it can swing freely.When a pendulum is displaced from its resting Mechanical equilibrium, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position....
, and Keplerian orbits
Kepler's laws of planetary motion

In astronomy, Kepler's three laws of planetary motion are*"The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the sun at a Focus ."*"A line joining a planet and the sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time."...
; instruments such as the vernier
Vernier scale

A vernier scale is an additional scale which allows a distance or angle measurement to be read more precisely than directly reading a uniformly-divided straight or circular measurement scale....
, the calorimeter
Calorimeter

| |}A calorimeter is a device used for calorimetry, the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity....
, and the Wheatstone bridge
Wheatstone bridge

A Wheatstone bridge is a measuring instrument invented by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833 and improved and popularized by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1843....
.


Those who study a scientific discipline are expected to know its exemplars. There is no fixed set of exemplars, but for a physicist today it would certainly include such things as the harmonic oscillator
Harmonic oscillator

In classical mechanics, a harmonic oscillator is a system which, when displaced from its equilibrium position, experiences a restoring force proportional to the displacement according to Hooke's law:...
 from mechanics
Mechanics

Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behaviour of physical body when subjected to forces or Displacement , and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment....
 and the hydrogen atom
Hydrogen atom

A hydrogen atom is an atom of the chemical element hydrogen. The Electric charge neutral atom contains a single positively-charged proton and a single negatively-charged electron bound to the nucleus by the Coulomb force....
 from quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale . Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certaintie...
. For a biologist today the set includes the population variations of the European peppered moth
Peppered moth

The peppered moth is a temperate species of nocturnal moth. Peppered moth evolution is often used by educators as an example of natural selection....
 (Biston betularia) and the convergent evolution
Convergent evolution

Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action....
 of wings. They should also be familiar with ideas which have been discredited or otherwise proven false.

See also

  • Paradigm
    Paradigm

    The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
  • Paradigm shift
    Paradigm shift

    Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Samuel Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science....
  • Scientific consensus
    Scientific consensus

    Scientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of the scientific community of scientists in a Scientific discipline of study....
  • Theories and sociology of the history of science
    Theories and sociology of the history of science

    The sociology of science and philosophy of science, as well as the entire field of science studies, have in the 20th century been preoccupied with the question of large-scale patterns and trends in the development of science, and asking questions about how science "works" both in a philosophical and practical sense....