Science as (Historical) Narrative |
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Authors: | M Norton Wise |
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Institution: | (1) Department of History and Center for Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-1473, USA |
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Abstract: | The traditional mode of explanation in physics via deduction from partial differential equations is contrasted here with explanation
via simulations. I argue that the different technologies employed constitute different languages, which support different
sorts of narratives. The narratives that accompany simulations and articulate their meaning are typically historical or natural
historical in kind. They explain complex phenomena by growing them rather than by referring them to general laws. Examples of such growth simulations and growth narratives come from the
evolution of wave functions in quantum chaos, snowflake formation, and Etruscan genetics. The examples suggest a few concluding
remarks on historical explanation. |
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