Changes

* Currently, the existence of a mosaic split is the only way for us as historians of science to identify a case of inconclusive theory assessment. However, it is logically possible (given the Laws of Scientific Change) for the result of theory assessment to be inconclusive and yet the entire community chooses to accept the theory. In this case, no mosaic split would occur. Is it possible to identify these cases in our historical analysis? (Paul Patton, 2016)

* Are there really instances of necessary theory acceptance, or is ever case of theory assessment inconclusive to a degree? If there are necessary cases, is it possible for us as historians to show decisively that a theory was necessarily accepted rather than accepted after an inconclusive assessment? We can ask the same question with regard to mosaic splits: are necessary splits theoretically possible, or are all mosaic splits the result of inconclusive assessment? And if they are possible, can we ever as historians detect them? (Paul Patton, 2016)