Scientific advances are often delayed because it is assumed that certain processes and components in a living organism either "do" or "cannot do" certain things. Hemoglobin has been assumed to carry oxygen to the cells of the body of many animals and remove carbon dioxide. Everyone knew that the red blood cells were specialized to carry out that function. However, just HOW that was done was a mystery. A new study by a former graduate at the University of Texas, who worked with Dr. Riggs in the Zoology Department, answered this question, AND explained how blood vessels dialate even though they contain large amounts of a vasoconstrictor, hemoglobin! (This wasn't even on the priority list of most people's minds.)
Read this article to understand how one of many basic questions was solved, even though it has been "around" for decades. The filter of our minds, whether about the way biological systems function, or that the "most important" questions are the ones that are "new", stands in our way of understanding most of life. This is Paradigm Paralysis in action!
For those without access, the reference is "Hemoglobin Molecule's Secret Revealed" Science News vol. 149 (March 23, 1996) p. 180.
Vaults are an example of cell structures that were present, but unrecognized, for many years. Their "discovery" illustrates how a paradigm controls what we are able to recognize as "important" and filters out those parts of our information for which we have no conceptual place. We may reject observations if our paradigm does not include a need for the observations in the models developed within the paradigm, or we may disregard observations that relate to a scope larger than our paradigm. In science we are rarely allowed to publish observations for which we have no model to demonstrate their relevance. In fact, many such attempts are discounted as "imagination" or "pseudo-science" initially. It becomes very difficult to distinguish between true illusion and important new reality for a while, and, once publically discounted, reality may require a long time to be recognized. Peer pressure in science is a significant force that enforces paradigm paralysis.
For those without access, the reference is "What's in the Vault? An ignored cell component may often account for why chemotherapy fails". Science News vol. 150 (July 27, 1996) p. 56.
Maintained by Dick Richardson
d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu
Last updated
09/04/05