Tafoni and laboratory-based experiments of historical contingent phenomenon

Abstract

Controlled experiments on natural forms involve a traditional view of explanation that prioritizes control, manipulation and replication over more nuanced understanding of the phenomena under investigation. This is an issue if the phenomenon, like tafoni, is historically contingent. In particular, the entanglement of the environment is explicitly severed in controlled experiments. The failure to adequately reproduce the ordered forms associated with tafoni in laboratory experiments suggests that simulation and field case studies could provide a more informative route to understanding tafoni. This will, however, require a more systematic recognition of how such research enables researchers to understand the initial conditions of weathering and modes of development to tafoni observed.