The center, frontier, and fringe of science

What follows are my personal, working definitions of the center, frontier, and fringe of science*.

The center of science are the concepts and principles taken for granted in a particular field. This is the material taught in the classroom. An neuroscience example is neurons exist and have certain properties. The frontier of science are novel conjunctions and hypotheses within established paradigms. This is the day-to-day work of science. Reward prediction error is an neuroscience example. The fringe of science is outside of current scientific paradigms. This is can be found at post-conference happy hours. The idea that neurons are able to predict 500ms in the future what will be required of them is fringe neuroscience.

Each of those elements has an inherent medium. Textbooks are most often contain the center of science. They take massive amounts of resources and time to produce. It makes sense to have them reflect the central tenets, which are unlikely to change. The bulk of journals, posters, and talks are at the frontiers of science. Those media take less resources and time to produce and can afford to take more chances. The best medium for the fringe of science is blogs. The cost of blogging is effectively free. It provides the opportunity to try ideas and receive immediate feedback. Blogs can serve a vital function in the world of science.

* Excuse me if I'm "reinventing the wheel." I could not find a digital or hard copy of Notes on the Nature of Fringe Science. I would greatly appreciate if someone could provide or point me to a copy.