Anders Celsius didn't necessarily "challenge" traditional thinking in the way we might think of a revolutionary. He wasn't trying to overthrow the established order or spark a societal upheaval. However, he did make a significant contribution to the scientific world by challenging the way temperature was measured and establishing a new standard for it.

Here's how:

* Prior to Celsius: Before Celsius, temperature was measured using various scales, many of them arbitrary and not easily comparable. The most commonly used scale at the time was the Réaumur scale.

* Celsius's innovation: Celsius proposed a new temperature scale where the freezing point of water was set at 0 degrees and the boiling point at 100 degrees, creating a more logical and consistent system.

* Why it was significant: This new system was more intuitive and easily reproducible, making it easier for scientists to share and compare their findings. It also paved the way for more precise temperature measurements and advances in other fields like chemistry and physics.

It's important to note:

* Celsius's scale wasn't initially widely accepted. It was later reversed (boiling point at 0 degrees and freezing point at 100) and became the standard we know today as the Celsius scale.

* Celsius's legacy: His work contributed to the development of a more standardized and accurate way of measuring temperature, which had a profound impact on scientific progress and understanding of the natural world.

So, while Celsius didn't challenge traditional thinking in the sense of a social revolution, he did challenge the established way of measuring a fundamental aspect of the natural world, leading to a more precise and standardized system that continues to be used today.