The ultimate model, adding the final dimensions of social embeddedness and metaphysical commitment. Building on the 12 Axes, we add: Axis 13: Independent-Embedded (science as separate from society vs. deeply enmeshed). Axis 14: Objective-Reflexive (observer separate vs. observer part of system). Axis 15: Realist-Instrumentalist (models describe reality vs. models are useful tools). Axis 16: Materialist-Pluralist (matter fundamental vs. multiple fundamentals). These sixteen axes generate 65,536 potential positions—enough to capture every scientific approach, every methodological debate, every philosophical commitment. The 16 Axes reveal that science isn't a single thing but a multidimensional space of possibilities, and that progress isn about finding the one true position but about navigating the space with wisdom.
The 16 Axes of the Science Spectrum "You want science to be one thing, one method, one philosophy. The 16 Axes show that's impossible—there are 65,536 ways to do science, each appropriate for different phenomena, different questions, different contexts. The unity of science isn't in its method—it's in its commitment to understanding, whatever that requires. Sixteen axes, infinite approaches, one goal."
by Dumu The Void February 25, 2026
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