Five Paradigm Shifts and the Acceleration of Their Acceptance: From Big Data to Small Data
Dmitriy V. Andriyanov · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
This paper presents a structured analysis of five major paradigm shifts in science and technology over the past 500 years. A consistent pattern is identified: increasing precision of description, reduction of ambiguity, and acceleration of societal acceptance. The study demonstrates a non-linear decrease in the time required for paradigm adoption, from approximately 2000 years to an estimated 10 years for the most recent transition. The paper introduces the transition from probabilistic Big Data approaches to deterministic Small Data based on exact ontological description. Unlike previous paradigms, which addressed physical, biological, or spacetime structures, this paradigm addresses the structure of information itself. It is shown that systems built on unambiguous ontological descriptions eliminate the need for probabilistic approximation and enable deterministic correctness in engineering, manufacturing, and trade.