Normal science and the hidden lemmas of mathematical epidemiology

Abstract:
Normal science is a characterization of science in our epoch and a demarcation of what “scientific” means. It divides science in disciplined/normed paradigms. Mathematical epidemiology is the paradigm that regulates the activity of mathematicians with respect to the study of epidemics. It also represents the interest (multiple meanings implied) of the community that guards it. In contrast, a real epidemic is a complex system, an undisciplined problem. To enable a connection between reality and the paradigm, an important number of bold decisions are needed: the hidden lemmas, i.e., simplifying assumptions that are not offered to examination and are usually inscribed in the habits of the practitioners
of the paradigm. The right of mathematical epidemiology to speak about real
epidemics rests on the appropriateness of the reduction of the problem to a
schematic set of equations or algorithms. We offer an examination of the most
evident hidden lemmas in action.