Study Guide: Chapter 12 — The Resolution of Revolutions

Core Concept

Paradigm contests end by conversion cascade: early adopters commit on promise and aesthetics, produce visible wins, arguments multiply, the profession tips, holdouts are outlived. Reasons without rules; Planck's principle does the rest.

Key Terms

Conversion · Planck's principle · five values · early-adopter faith

Case Summary

Priestley never accepted oxygen chemistry; early Copernicans converted on mathematical harmony before telescopic evidence. Both rational — on different value-weightings.

Application Checklist

• [ ] Route change through early adopters and demonstrations, not memos to skeptics
• [ ] Audit your resistances: reasons or tenure?
• [ ] Size early framework bets as faith-plus-promise — that's the actual game

Self-Test

1. Why must early adopters decide "in defiance of the evidence"?
2. The five values — and why their variable weighting is functional?
3. What distinguishes Kuhn's account from "mob psychology"?