Abstract
As a fundamental unit common to all natural processes, time is linked to every scientific endeavor. Physics, which deals most directly with time itself, lacks a unified model capable of explaining observed anomalies and theoretical conflicts, leading the overwhelming majority of scientists to conclude that a revolution in our understanding is necessary. Lacking this new and transformative paradigm, physics research is unlikely in the foreseeable future to complete the Einsteinian revolution. As theoreticians correctly recognize the need for a revolutionary new cosmological model, postulating new dimensions, forces, and types of matter, experimentalists quite reasonably conclude: “in the absence of useful theoretical guidance, observational exploration must be the focus of our efforts”. In this essay, we identify core knowledge and elements of a cognitive framework for rationally identifying revolutionary approaches and ideas. We argue that defining and understanding the paradigm change we seek, based on what is known about the next revolution in physics, is a crucial component of a successful effort. Our development of a clear, elaborated definition of this transformative future model is drawn from the current state of physics, philosophy of science, scientific revolutions, and accepted standards in project management. Historical archetypes of scientific revolutions are presented to illustrate defining attributes in transformational paradigm shifts and provide insight. We argue that because research to create a revolutionary new space-time model is a temporary effort to deliver a unique result, standards of project management are appropriate and valuable to apply. A partial structure of the revolutionary paradigm can be constructed based on known attributes of time’s fundamental relationship to various physics specialties and the unique characteristics of transformative models.
Buck Field