The Thematic Dimension in Weather Modification, Past and Future
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54782/jwm.v18i1.420Abstract
Weather modification research is considered as taking place on the contingency plane defined by a theoretic axis on which mathematical and logical operations take place, and a phenomic or empirical axis on which experimental oparations (including observations) on natural phenomena take place. The manner in which these operations are organized and combined in the framing and testing of hypotheses is strongly influenced by a third dimension called thematic by Holton, in which premises or postulates operate that are not directly either verifiable or falsifiable. The thematic premise that has most strongly influenced weather modification research for almost 30 years is that physical understanding of each step in the precipitation process, natural and modified, is a prerequisite for an effective technology. This premise will be examined in the light of alternative themas operating in other sciences and of Nelson's principle of insulation. This admits of empiric parameters at one level of understanding that may later be theoretically deduced from a deeper level. It is suggested that a different thema is emerging in weather modification research related to interpretations of empirical evidence, which may insulate a portion of this field from what has been described as its great complexity and difficulty.Downloads
Issue
Section
Scientific Papers
License
Authors that submit papers for publication agree to the Journal’s copyright and publication terms. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the manuscript’s authorship and initial publication in Journal of Weather Modification. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the Journal of Weather Modification. Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process to encourage productive exchanges and greater citation of the published article.
Articles are published online using restricted access for the first year. After the first year, articles are made freely available online. Immediate open access for an article may be obtained by the author paying an open access fee which is in addition to the normal page changes. Authors are expected to honor a page charge in order to support publication and distribution of the journal. After the author approves the gallery formatted version for publication, the Weather Modification Association’s Secretary will invoice the corresponding author for the page charges and payment is due within 30 days.
How to Cite
The Thematic Dimension in Weather Modification, Past and Future. (1986). The Journal of Weather Modification, 18(1), 112-116. https://doi.org/10.54782/jwm.v18i1.420