Read the passage and answer the questions: "Normal science, the activity in which most scientists inevitably spend almost all their time, is based on the assumption that the scientific community knows what the world is like. Scientists take great pains to defend that assumption, often restricting their vision to the phenomena that the existing paradigm has defined as relevant. When research proceeds in this fashion, findings tend to be incremental, reinforcing the established framework rather than challenging it. Yet, over time, anomalies—empirical observations that cannot be explained within the current paradigm—accumulate. Initially, these anomalies are dismissed as errors or as problems to be solved within the existing theoretical structure. However, as these anomalies grow in number and significance, they begin to erode confidence in the prevailing paradigm. The resolution of such crises is not a straightforward process of falsification, as Popper might suggest, but rather a transformation in the very way scientists see the world. Scientific revolutions occur when a new paradigm emerges—one that is not merely an extension of the old but a fundamental reconceptualization of reality. This shift is not purely logical or empirical; it involves a radical change in perspective, akin to a gestalt switch. The Copernican Revolution, for example, did not merely adjust astronomical calculations; it redefined the very framework through which celestial motion was understood. Similarly, Einstein's theory of relativity did not just modify Newtonian mechanics but replaced its foundational assumptions about space and time."
What is the best synonym for "incommensurable" in the sentence: "What makes these revolutions particularly striking is that competing paradigms are often incommensurable."
Irreconcilable
Irreconcilable is correct.
"Incommensurable" literally means having no common measure. Applied to scientific paradigms, it means two frameworks cannot be judged by a shared standard, so they cannot be brought into agreement with each other.
The passage supports this sense: a new paradigm is "not merely an extension of the old but a fundamental reconceptualization of reality", like a gestalt switch. Paradigms that cannot be reconciled are irreconcilable.
Comparable means able to be measured against each other, the opposite idea. Parallel suggests running alongside in a similar way. Disjointed means lacking coherence or poorly connected, which describes a single disorganised thing, not two frameworks that cannot be squared with each other.
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Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
What is the meaning of ‘intrigued’?
What are ice shelves?
What are icebergs?
When the iceberg turns upside down, it appears ________.
The use of science in its simple form has helped man to ____________
