Oh (2021)

Oh, Sanghoon. (2021) Element Decay. Scientonomy 4, 41-58. Retrieved from https://scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/37122.

Title	Element Decay
Resource Type	journal article
Author(s)	Sanghoon Oh
Year	2021
URL	https://scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/37122
DOI	https://doi.org/10.33137/js.v4i0.37122
Journal	Scientonomy
Volume	4
Pages	41-58

Abstract

This paper attempts to establish the existence of element decay by making an historical case for the existence of theory decay, a phenomenon where theories leave an agent’s mosaic without any re-evaluation or decision on the agent’s part. The phenomenon of theory decay is to be theoretically distinguished from rejection without replacement; while the latter is a result of an agent’s deliberation, the former is a result of an agent’s inaction. To locate historical instances of theory decay, there should be evidence that the agent under study existed continuously throughout the period under study, that the theory was accepted at some point and unaccepted at some later point, and that the theory left the mosaic without any decision on the part of the agent. With these indicators at hand, I discuss five potentially promising historical cases: Poisson distribution, the Aharonov-Bohm effect, Damascus steel, Greek fire, and Cremonese violins. I argue that there is solid historical evidence to interpret the latter as an instance of element decay, which is sufficient to establish the existence of the phenomenon. I show that element decay is best seen as a non-scientonomic phenomenon; its existence highlights that individual and communal agents have limited capacities of knowledge retention and transmission and, when these limits are reached, element decay often takes place. This suggests that sufficient epistemic capacity to retain and transmit knowledge is a necessary precondition for the existence of scientonomic patterns, which emerge and hold only when the agent has measures in place to counteract potential element decay.

Theories

Here are all the theories formulated in Oh (2021):

Theory	Type	Formulation	Formulated In
Element Decay Exists	Descriptive	There is such a thing as element decay.	2021
Theory Decay Exists	Descriptive	There is such a thing as theory decay.	2021
Theory Decay Is a Subtype of Element Decay (Oh-2021)	Descriptive	Theory Decay is a subtype of Element Decay, i.e. element decay is a supertype of theory decay.	2021

Suggested Modifications

Here are all the modifications suggested in Oh (2021):

• Sciento-2021-0005: Accept that the phenomenon of element decay exists as a non-scientonomic phenomenon. The modification was suggested to Scientonomy community by Sanghoon Oh on 1 August 2021.1 The modification is currently being evaluated; a verdict is pending.