Paradigm shift
Meaning
A fundamental and often dramatic change in the way a particular field or society understands or approaches something, replacing an old way of thinking with a new one.
Origin
“Paradigm shift” might sound like ancient wisdom, but this powerful phrase only burst onto the scene in the mid-20th century. It was the brainchild of American philosopher Thomas Kuhn, who unveiled it in his game-changing 1962 book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." Kuhn flipped the conventional idea of scientific progress on its head. Instead of a smooth, steady climb of discovery, he proposed that science advanced in sudden, dramatic leaps—intellectual earthquakes where old ways of understanding the world were completely overthrown by revolutionary new ones. Think of Copernicus changing our view of the cosmos, or Einstein rewriting the laws of physics. These weren't just new facts; they were fundamental shifts in the very framework of knowledge. Kuhn called these profound transformations "paradigm shifts," and the term quickly escaped academia, becoming our go-to phrase for any truly disruptive, fundamental change in thinking.
Examples
- The invention of the internet represented a major paradigm shift in how people communicate and access information.
- The company underwent a paradigm shift in its marketing strategy, moving from traditional advertising to a fully digital approach.