poke comments on Hand vs. Fingers - Less Wrong

25 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 30 March 2008 12:36AM

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Comment author: poke 30 March 2008 06:19:04PM 0 points [-]

Caledonian,

Modern chemistry is an extension of physics. The theories that chemists use were literally extrapolated from the physics; they're physically accurate extensions of the physical behavior of the hydrogen atom. (They cut corners but we know how to cut corners; physics is all about simplification.) Modern biology is built on biochemistry (which is just the chemistry of large organic molecules). Neurobiology is biology (and biochemistry and biophysics). Mineralogy is built on chemistry and founds modern geology (along with physics). Astrophysics is obviously physics; cosmology is physics; and so on. Most of the dividing lines are obviously institutional. Which part of all this, exactly, would you object to?