The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions,Venkatesh Narayanamurti;Jeffrey Y. Tsao

-About this book

Research powers innovation and technoscientific advance, but it is due for a rethink, one consistent with its deeply holistic nature, requiring deeply human nurturing.
Research is a deeply human endeavor that must be nurtured to achieve its full potential. As with tending a garden, care must be taken to organize, plant, feed, and weed―and the manner in which this nurturing is done must be consistent with the nature of what is being nurtured.
In The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions, Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Jeffrey Tsao propose a new and holistic system, a rethinking of the nature and nurturing of research. They share lessons from their vast research experience in the physical sciences and engineering, as well as from perspectives drawn from the history and philosophy of science and technology, research policy and management, and the evolutionary biological, complexity, physical, and economic sciences.
Narayanamurti and Tsao argue that research is a recursive, reciprocal process at many levels: between science and technology; between questions and answer finding; and between the consolidation and challenging of conventional wisdom. These fundamental aspects of the nature of research should be reflected in how it is nurtured. To that end, Narayanamurti and Tsao propose aligning organization, funding, and governance with research; embracing a culture of holistic technoscientific exploration; and instructing people with care and accountability.

-CONTENTS

 Introduction 1

1 The Technoscientific Method: Science, Technology, and Their Coevolution 15

 1.1 The Repositories of Technoscientific Knowledge: S and T 17

 1.2 The Growth of Technoscientific Knowledge: S and T˙ 26

 1.3 Cycles of S˙ and T˙: The Transistor and the Maser / Laser 49

 1.4 Recapitulation 63

2 The Intricate Dance of Question-and-Answer Finding 65

 2.1 Networks of Questions and Answers: Q and A 67

 2.2 Finding New Questions and Answers: Q˙and A˙ 81

 2.3 Cycles of Q˙ and A˙: Special Relativity and the iPhone 94

 2.4 Recapitulation 106

3 The Punctuated Equilibria of Knowledge Evolution: Surprise and Consolidation 109

 3.1 Paradigms as Mediators of Surprise and Consolidation 111

 3.2 Surprise Spawns Consolidation Spawns Surprise 125

 3.3 Cycles of Surprise and Consolidation: Artificial Lighting 133

 3.4 Recapitulation 143

4 Guiding Principles for Nurturing Research 146

4.1 Align Organization, Funding, and Governance for Research 149

4.2 Embrace a Culture of Holistic Technoscientific Exploration 167

4.3 Nurture People with Care and Accountability 186

4.4 Recapitulation 202

Conclusion 204

Glossary 209

References 217

Index 231

-Caractéristiques

Date de parution:10 décembre 2021

Éditeur ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press

Langue ‏ : ‎ Anglais

N.b de pages ‏ : ‎ 248 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674251857

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674251854

Poids de l’article ‏ : ‎ 538 g

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.51 x 3.18 x 24.13 cm