Doubting Didymus

Imagine, a hundred million years into the future: The highly intelligent mice that took over after we died out uncover a fossil of richard gere droppings. What would they think of us? Imagine the bedtime stories. We think being eaten by a t-rex is a scary prospect.

fando

Hmpht.

VonEvilstein

Well, isn't it exactly the kind of thing a theoretical physicist (my friend) would say to a biochemist (me)?

However, I wouldn't call it "utter lunacy", not really. Just a massive generalization, and as such, less than accurate and not applicable to all cases. I'd reserve "utter lunacy" status for things significantly more uttlery lunatic than this.

Wounded King

You might be a special case though von Evilstein. After all it is quite common for biochemists to be under the similarly mistaken impression that all biology is really just an annexe of biochemistry, and there is a lot of biochemistry which can be explained in terms of the nitty gritty of atomic interactions.

You may be an exception to this rule, if so I am very glad.

VonEvilstein

A muliti-disciplinary science such as biology, is built on more than one foundation - one of these is chemistry (and by extension, physics), and it will get you a long way. And when it gets you as far as it can take you, you can get out, look around, and realize there's still a lot of ground to cover.

At least, that's how I see it.

Wyz_sub10

There's an old joke that says when one becomes educated, one realizes psychology is really biology, biology is really chemistry, chemistry is really physics, physics is really math, and math is really!

And on that note...are we discussing S&S or just cracking wise?

I hate to close a civil thread and all, but I think this one's run its course.

Let's see.

Wounded King

Perhaps it is simply that the scale o biology is so much more human. People feel engaged/enraged by the ethical questions biology throws up i.e. stem cells, abortion, IVF, eugenics, cloning.

Compare the reaction to suggestions that some weedkiller resistance genes might escape from a few GM crops, considerable and ongoing, to that seen at the suggestion that the use of a new Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider possibly creating a black hole or fundamentally changing the nature of the quantum vacuum, next to nonexistent and transient.

Now that nuclear armageddon hasnt turned up after 50 years of waiting physics is passe as a source of worry, vive la frankenstein science, vive la biologie.

pz

Errm, it's a joke. I assure you that we lofty biologists are well aware of the hordes of mathematicians, physicists, chemists, geologists, etc. who stand below us, straining to hold up the ornate pedestal on which we stand. We only occasionally mock their lesser status because we heard that a little condescending bonhomie is good for their morale, and makes the peons laugh while they labor. It's all in good spirits.

Late_Cretaceous

Hasn't anyone told you, all you need to get a degree in biology is "to be able to memorize stuff".

I hear that one all the time, especially from engineers.

MadKally

All that rote memorization I did has come back to me many times, then I say "ahhh haa, so that's what it meant" I remembered plenty without using rote too.