Have the great theories become obsolete?

Eurekalert  November 6, 2019
Be it relativity theory, systems theory, or game theory: to this day, great theories are the figureheads of science. Today’s technology makes it possible to store huge amounts of data and analyse them rapidly. This has an effect on academic work. Researchers automatically evaluate large amounts of data in order to explain phenomena. Great theories and mid-range theories have always been questioned. However, nowadays, criticism has taken on a completely different quality. Digitalization has the ability to change the foundations of sciences. At an upcoming conference in Germany, ‘The Theoretical University in the Data Age. Have the Great Theories Become Obsolete?’ the researchers will examine the way big data research is affecting the practice of theory formulation and the attitude towards theories across all disciplines, will the phenomena of our world be explained in future primarily by data analyses instead of theories? Or does big data provide new insights that make the propositions of theories more precise?…read more.