Paradigms are the way we perceive, think and value the world, based upon a particular vision of reality. They provide us with a valid set of expectations about what will probably occur based upon a shared set of assumptions. Paradigms establish boundaries and define how to succeed within the boundaries. When we are in the middle of a paradigm, it is difficult to imagine any other paradigm. Of course, everyone in a field does not change because a new paradigm comes on the scene.
Some people are so committed to particular paradigms that they never change.
It is not always easy to know when to change and when to step around those who do not. Understanding the phenomenon of paradigms and how these core assumptions can lead to blindspots is a critical step in preparing for progressive change. In 1962, Thomas S. Kuhn, then a budding philosopher and historian of science, published a book called The Structure of Scientific Revolutions . Kuhn proposed a new way of looking at the process by which the periodic, tradition-shattering revolutions in the ongoing work of science come into being. Kuhn noted that throughout the history of science, each advance noteworthy enough to be called a revolution was followed by a change in the way the community of scientists looked at familiar data.