In their original paper, Nelson and Phelps (1966) developed the concept of “technological gap”, defined as the percentage difference between the technology operated by the typical machine in the economy and the one embodied in the leading-edge machine.
The technology gap between Nokia phones back in the day when smartpho.nes came about had destroyed Nokia's title of "king of cell phones".
by itsametoo February 26, 2022
Get the technology gap mug.The arrogant misapplication of scientific authority to claim that phenomena currently unexplained by science are therefore permanently unexplainable by it, or that science's current models are complete and final. It is the mirror image of the "God of the Gaps" fallacy. Instead of inserting deity into unknowns, it inserts a dogmatic, closed scientific materialism, claiming "science says it's impossible" as a way to shut down inquiry into the anomalous, paranormal, or merely not-yet-studied.
Example: When presented with well-documented but poorly understood phenomena like certain psychedelic experiences or rare consciousness events, a skeptic might state, "Consciousness is just brain chemistry. Anything else is woo. That's the Science of the Gaps—what we don't understand now, we never will, because it doesn't fit the model." This turns tentative scientific understanding into an unchallengeable orthodoxy.
by Dumuabzu February 3, 2026
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