Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

In both classical Latin and post-classical Latin ''mediocris'' and ''mediocritās'' had three main semantic areas: (1) middle [[degree]] of [[quality]] or [[quantity]], (2) [[moderation]], [[moral]] [[justice]], (3) middle [[social]] class or rank. All three are reflected in the uses of Middle French ''médiocre'' and ''médiocrité'' and of [[English]] ''mediocrity''. Classical Latin ''mediocritās'' is used already with implications of inferiority, but French ''médiocrité'' does not appear to be used disparagingly.

In both classical Latin and post-classical Latin ''mediocris'' and ''mediocritās'' had three main semantic areas: (1) middle [[degree]] of [[quality]] or [[quantity]], (2) [[moderation]], [[moral]] [[justice]], (3) middle [[social]] class or rank. All three are reflected in the uses of Middle French ''médiocre'' and ''médiocrité'' and of [[English]] ''mediocrity''. Classical Latin ''mediocritās'' is used already with implications of inferiority, but French ''médiocrité'' does not appear to be used disparagingly.

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1588]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1588]

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*1a : the [[quality]] or [[state]] of being mediocre  

*1a : the [[quality]] or [[state]] of being mediocre  

*2: a mediocre [[person]]

*2: a mediocre [[person]]

==Description==

==Description==

The '''mediocrity''' principle is the notion in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science philosophy of science] that there is nothing very unusual about the [[evolution]] of our [[solar system]], the [[Earth]], any one [[nation]], or humans. It is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic heuristic] in the vein of the Copernican principle, and is sometimes used as a philosophical [[statement]] about the place of [[humanity]]. Biologist and blogger PZ Myers believes this heuristic reminds us to look for general [[explanatory]] principles first, and only then pursue the [[exceptional]] details. The [[idea]] is to [[assume]] mediocrity, rather than starting with the assumption that a [[phenomenon]] is special or has somehow violated the laws of the [[universe]].

The '''mediocrity''' principle is the notion in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science philosophy of science] that there is nothing very unusual about the [[evolution]] of our [[solar system]], the [[Earth]], any one [[nation]], or humans. It is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic heuristic] in the vein of the Copernican principle, and is sometimes used as a philosophical [[statement]] about the place of [[humanity]]. Biologist and blogger PZ Myers believes this heuristic reminds us to look for general [[explanatory]] principles first, and only then pursue the [[exceptional]] details. The [[idea]] is to [[assume]] mediocrity, rather than starting with the assumption that a [[phenomenon]] is special or has somehow violated the laws of the [[universe]].

The mediocrity, as the Copernican principle, states that life on [[Earth]] depends on just a few basic [[molecules]], the elements that make up these molecules are (to a greater or lesser extent) common to all [[stars]], and the laws of [[science]] we know apply to the entire [[universe]] (and there is no reason to assume that they do not). Given sufficient [[time]], it seems reasonable to [[expect]] that life would originate somewhere, and has probably originated elsewhere in the [[cosmos]]. This [[idea]] is bolstered by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble Edwin Hubble]'s [[discovery]] that the [[universe]] is substantially larger than [[humans]] first [[thought]]. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Deep_Field Hubble Deep Field] is a long [[exposure]] of thousands of [[galaxies]], making it one of the best pictorial [[representations]] of the principle of mediocrity.]

The mediocrity, as the Copernican principle, states that life on [[Earth]] depends on just a few basic [[molecules]], the elements that make up these molecules are (to a greater or lesser extent) common to all [[stars]], and the laws of [[science]] we know apply to the entire [[universe]] (and there is no reason to assume that they do not). Given sufficient [[time]], it seems reasonable to [[expect]] that life would originate somewhere, and has probably originated elsewhere in the [[cosmos]]. This [[idea]] is bolstered by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble Edwin Hubble]'s [[discovery]] that the [[universe]] is substantially larger than [[humans]] first [[thought]]. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Deep_Field Hubble Deep Field] is a long [[exposure]] of thousands of [[galaxies]], making it one of the best pictorial [[representations]] of the principle of mediocrity.]

The traditional [[formulation]] of the Copernican mediocrity principle is usually played out in the following way: Ancients of the Middle East and west once thought that the Earth was at the center of the universe, but [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus Copernicus] proposed that the [[Sun]] was at the [[center]]. In the 1930s, RJ Trumpler found that the [[solar system]] was not at the center of the [[Milky Way|Milky Way Galaxy]] (as Jacobus Kapteyn claimed), but 56% of the way out to the rim from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_center galaxy's core]. In the mid-twentieth century, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gamow George Gamow] (et al.) demonstrated that although it appears that our [[Galaxy]] is at the center of an expanding [[universe]] (in accordance with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble%27s_law Hubble's law]), every point in [[space]] could be experiencing the same [[phenomenon]]. And, at the end of the twentieth century, Geoff Marcy and colleagues discovered that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrasolar_planets extrasolar planets] are quite common, putting to [[rest]] the [[idea]] that the Sun is [[unusual]] in having [[planets]]. In short, Copernican mediocrity is a series of astronomical findings that the [[Earth]] is a relatively [[ordinary]] [[planet]] orbiting a relatively ordinary [[star]] in a relatively ordinary [[galaxy]] which is one of countless others in a giant [[universe]], possibly within an infinite [[multiverse]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity]

The traditional [[formulation]] of the Copernican mediocrity principle is usually played out in the following way: Ancients of the Middle East and west once thought that the Earth was at the center of the universe, but [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus Copernicus] proposed that the [[Sun]] was at the [[center]]. In the 1930s, RJ Trumpler found that the [[solar system]] was not at the center of the [[Milky Way|Milky Way Galaxy]] (as Jacobus Kapteyn claimed), but 56% of the way out to the rim from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_center galaxy's core]. In the mid-twentieth century, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gamow George Gamow] (et al.) demonstrated that although it appears that our [[Galaxy]] is at the center of an expanding [[universe]] (in accordance with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble%27s_law Hubble's law]), every point in [[space]] could be experiencing the same [[phenomenon]]. And, at the end of the twentieth century, Geoff Marcy and colleagues discovered that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrasolar_planets extrasolar planets] are quite common, putting to [[rest]] the [[idea]] that the Sun is [[unusual]] in having [[planets]]. In short, Copernican mediocrity is a series of astronomical findings that the [[Earth]] is a relatively [[ordinary]] [[planet]] orbiting a relatively ordinary [[star]] in a relatively ordinary [[galaxy]] which is one of countless others in a giant [[universe]], possibly within an infinite [[multiverse]].[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: Astronomy]]

[[Category: Astronomy]]

[[Category: Cosmology]]

[[Category: Cosmology]]