The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
| Author | Thomas S. Kuhn |
|---|---|
| Published | 1962 |
| Pages | 210 |
| Recommended | 3 times |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Kuhn’s account of how science actually changes: normal science is puzzle-solving inside a paradigm, anomalies pile up into crisis, and the field converts to a new paradigm in a discontinuous shift, because competing paradigms do not even agree on what the problems are. The book put “paradigm shift” and “normal science” into general use and is one of the most cited academic works of the twentieth century. |
Where I heard about it
- On Jay’s investing reading list — a Google Sheet of 92 books by discipline, saved in Kyle’s Roam notes on April 15th, 2020 (Jay’s Investing Reading List). Jay highlighted it as one of the six to start with. Jay’s reason: “Maybe top 5 most important book on this list - understanding how theories change”
- Brendan McCord — on his Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, March 2026, in the Science, Technology, and Epistemology section, after Popper and E. O. Wilson and before Campbell’s evolutionary epistemology — Kuhn as the historical counterweight to Popper’s falsificationism. The full 211-entry list is on The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.
- On Patrick Collison’s Bookshelf — Patrick Collison’s catalog of the physical books he owns (unflagged). Saved in Kyle’s April 19th, 2020 Roam daily note.
About this edition
Kuhn spent later years qualifying the book’s relativist implications.
Connections
- Epistemology — the field the book unsettled.
- Knowledge — the thing whose growth it re-describes.
- Progress — the cumulative account of science the book argues against.
- The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the curriculum this came from.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.