- [[question]] - Tags: [[DSynthesis Infrastructure]] - Description - [[Z Synthesis is a creative act]] - [[CLM - Synthesis is creating a new whole out of component parts]] - So the new thing should have properties that the mere sum of the parts doesn't. But what properties? We think the core idea is that [[CLM - Clearer cases of synthesis involve substantial conceptual innovation]] - [[Z Theories are core examples of synthesis]] - [[Z Design spaces are core examples of synthesis]] - [[Z Frames are core examples of synthesis]] - Consider the difference between these two "summaries" of a set of papers: - {{table}} - Example - A - B - Related work for systems paper - There are a few ways to solve problem X. One is <method1> [1,2]. People have also tried <method2> [3,4,5]. Finally, others have tried <method3> [6,7,8]. In this paper, we introduce <method4>. - The earliest attempts to solve problem X took the angle of <method1> [1,2]. But it has limitations ABC. For example, [1] showed that... To address limitations ABC, others have explored the possibility of <method2> [3,4,5], which makes key modifications XYZ to <method1>. This yields some gains under settings DD, but doesn't work in settings EE. The overarching open problem seems to be the tradeoff between XXX (common in settings EE) and the side effect BB of <method2>. To address this open problem, researchers are exploring <method3> [6,7,8]. <method3> has shown some promise, yielding X% gains in settings EE; but a remaining open problem is YY. In this paper, we build on these efforts by addressing this key limitation. - Darwin's theory of evolution - Species vary: some variations are bad, and some help with survival. Species struggle to survive. Some, but not all, organisms pass on new offspring. - Species struggle to survive. Species also vary, and some variations are good and some are bad for survival. Therefore, one precondition for species to survive and pass on offspring is by having or inheriting beneficial variations. This variation and selection process explains how we get the diversity of species we see today. - Relation to other constructs (outputs) - [[CLM - Synthesis is sensemaking on hard mode]] - Explanation - Thinking of [[abduction]] - [[🧱 framing]] - [[@dubberlyModelingAnalysissynthesisBridge2008]] - [[@dorstCoreDesignThinking2011]] - [[conceptual change]] - Model - Insight - Maybe - Abstraction / [[compression]] - Also [[❗beware]] - Processes - [[CL - Synthesis is supported by Active Reading]] - [[CLM - Requirements for sensemaking come from the particulars of the work task]] - [[🧱 conceptual combination]] - [[🧱 framing]] - Examples (see also [[QR Examples of synthesis]] - 15 types of synthesis [[@strikeTypesSynthesisTheir1983]] - Inductive (empiricist) - 1: Generalizing over instances (p. 349) - 2: Simple theory construction (p. 349) - 3: Creating a superordinate theory (p. 349-350) - 4: Creating a worldview (p. 350) - Dialectics - 5: Dialectical resolution (p. 350) - Thesis --> Antithesis --> Synthesis (e.g., Marx, Dewey) - Kuhnian synthesis - 6: Normal science (p. 351) - Extending a paradigm to new cases (like Piaget's assimilation) - 7: Revolutionary science (p. 351) - Changing dominant assumptions in a field (like Piaget's accommodation) - 8: Overcoming incommensurable points of view (p. 352) - 9: Emergence of a paradigm - Interdisciplinary - 10: Semantic synthesis (p. 352) - Creating a common language between disciplines that talk about the same concepts in different ways - 11: Generating interdisciplines (p. 352-353) - Develop new conceptions and approaches to a problem, modified from two or more disciplines that converge on the same problem (e.g., computational linguistics) #Convergence - 12: Generating multidisciplinary perspectives (p. 353) - Generating a point of view that can be used to consider/weigh data from diverse sources - Quasi-syntheses - 13: Assessment (p.353-354) - Weighing the bulk of the evidence (aka meta-analysis / [[systematic review]] - cc [[CLM - systematic reviews are typically narrowly focused, and provide less insight]] - Judgment - 14: Application and program development (p. 354) - 15: Assemblages (p. 354) - Examples of Synthesis - {{query: {and: [[example-of]] - Counterexamples - We can also look at examples of intellectual acts that do not seem to produce something more than the sum of their parts. - Classic undifferentiated list, as noted in [[@holbrookLevelsSuccessUse2008]] - So, idea of "parts, not whole"? Assemblage? Can't transcend the sum of the parts. Or might not even have the sum. - The idea of a conceptually new whole construction is in contrast with what we often see in related work sections and literature reviews, which are much more about assemblage, often listing in chronological or author-order, what things have been done, what topics have been covered, with little to no synthesis into a coherent new whole. - In this vein, [[systematic review]] - It's not just that they're more easily done in well-structured domains where we have a bit more agreement. - It's also that these [[systematic review]] - Granted, good reviews (especially [[mmeta-analysis]] - Especially in medicine (e.g., [[Cochrane systematic reviews]] - #Thought-Fragment Additionally, the [[IVEO Matrix]] - 3IccxRhD0 - [[CLM - Effective synthesis is rare]] - R-Sources - [[@strikeTypesSynthesisTheir1983]] - [[@booteScholarsResearchersCentrality2005]] - [[@grantTypologyReviewsAnalysis2009]] ###### Discourse Context - **Informed By::** [[CLM - Synthesis is sensemaking on hard mode]] - **Informed By::** [[CLM - Synthesis is creating a new whole out of component parts]] - **Informed By::** [[CLM - Requirements for sensemaking come from the particulars of the work task]] - **Informed By::** [[CLM - Effective synthesis is rare]] - **Informed By::** [[CLM - Clearer cases of synthesis involve substantial conceptual innovation]] - **Informed By::** [[CLM - systematic reviews are typically narrowly focused, and provide less insight]] - **Informed By::** [[@strikeTypesSynthesisTheir1983]] - **Informed By::** [[@booteScholarsResearchersCentrality2005]] - **Informed By::** [[@dubberlyModelingAnalysissynthesisBridge2008]] - **Informed By::** [[@dorstCoreDesignThinking2011]] - **Informed By::** [[@grantTypologyReviewsAnalysis2009]]