Science discovers facts through observation. Not just science, but academia in general can be described as an intellectual activity that finds universal facts through observation and accumulates them as knowledge.
On the other hand, the development of objects and systems is an intellectual activity distinct from academia. Development creates new objects and systems through design, realizing material abundance and technological progress.
Generally, there is a relationship where knowledge accumulated through academia is utilized in development.
Furthermore, some academic fields, like engineering, accumulate knowledge discovered during development. These fields are called applied sciences and are sometimes distinguished from basic sciences like physics.
Thus, academia is centered on the discovery of facts through observation, while development is centered on the invention of objects and systems through design, each representing different intellectual activities.
However, within academia itself, the intellectual activity of invention through design also exists.
This is framework design.
Clear examples of framework design in science are the geocentric and heliocentric theories.
The geocentric and heliocentric theories were not hypotheses competing over which was fact. They were choices about which conceptual framework to apply to observed facts.
Their value was judged not by their correctness, but by their utility, and they were chosen based on utility for each specific situation.
This is precisely an invention through design, not a discovery through observation.
Newtonian mechanics, relativity theory, and quantum mechanics are also examples of framework design. These too are conceptual frameworks chosen based on utility, not correctness, for different situations.
These are called paradigm shifts, but it is more accurate to view them not as a complete shift in thinking, but as an increase in useful options. Therefore, it might be more appropriate to call them paradigm inventions or paradigm innovations.
Not only in science but also in various other academic fields, new, highly useful conceptual frameworks are sometimes invented, rather than merely discovered through observation.
When organized this way, it becomes clear that the intellectual activity of invention through design occupies a very important position within academia.
Differences in Skill Sets
Discovery through observation and invention through design are vastly different intellectual activities. Therefore, each requires a distinct set of skills.
Those who brought about major paradigm innovations in academia likely possessed these two different skill sets.
On the other hand, many scholars and researchers can gain recognition by writing papers if they are skilled in the intellectual activity of making discoveries through observation within already invented frameworks.
For this reason, not all scholars and researchers necessarily possess the skill set for invention through design. In fact, opportunities to engage in such invention or to learn its importance are probably not abundant.
Therefore, it is not surprising that most scholars and researchers lean towards skill sets for discovery through observation, and have not significantly acquired skills in framework design.
Software Engineers
On the other hand, there are also those whose profession is development. A prime example is various types of engineers involved in development.
The skill set for invention through design is, to varying degrees, an essential skill for engineers in their respective fields. Furthermore, these skills are accumulated through daily development work.
However, such design skills require unique expertise in each field and, apart from very basic elements, are not easily applicable to other domains.
In particular, framework design in academia is a specialized field that involves reconfiguring abstract concepts at a meta-level.
Therefore, simply possessing a design skill set does not mean one can apply it to framework design.
However, among engineers, software engineers are unique. This is because designing abstract concepts by reconfiguring them at a meta-level is a routine part of their work in software design.
For this reason, software engineers potentially possess the skill set required for academic framework design.
Of course, to achieve such advanced applications as academic framework design, one must excel at abstract concept design.
Moreover, individuals who habitually contemplate new design models would be well-suited for this.