Fashion in Science: Does It Exist?

Although scientists generally consider fashion, which they define as the selection of problems on the basis of non-scientific criteria, as a form of deviance, it is not necessary to postulate deviant motives on the part of the scientist in order to interpret the phenomenon of fashion in science. The phenomenon of rapid acceptance of scientific information can be explained more satisfactorily as a process of exceptionally rapid growth in a scientific field. The conditions which produce an exceptional rate of growth are described. The theoretical development of the field and the relative number of scientists attracted to it determines whether a field exhibiting this type of growth will be labeled “fashionable.” Whether this label is deserved also depends on the theoretical development of the field.