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ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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THE FOUNDATIONAL REMAINDER: What Every Founding Discovery Left Behind

Authors: V, Budinny;

THE FOUNDATIONAL REMAINDER: What Every Founding Discovery Left Behind

Abstract

Every founding scientific discovery opens one door. In doing so it makes other doors invisible — not because they do not exist, but because the framework built from the founding observation redefines what counts as a question worth asking. This paper introduces the Foundational Remainder: the portion of a founding observation that the founder's framework rendered permanently invisible to subsequent workers. A four-step methodology is proposed for identifying and mining the Foundational Remainder of any established scientific framework. Historical case studies — Newton's gravity, Faraday's electromagnetic induction, Darwin's natural selection — are examined to demonstrate the method. The paper argues that the next generation of scientific breakthroughs is more likely to emerge from the Foundational Remainder of existing frameworks than from incremental progress within them.

Keywords

foundational remainder, scientific discovery, hidden assumptions, philosophy of science, history of science, Newton, Faraday, Darwin, Einstein, Zero Cache Thinking, invisible assumptions, paradigm, framework, methodology

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average