What is the Definition of Physics?

[Juan R.]

Generaly, is it the accepted view that reductionism fails?

I do not undesrand your question very well, can you explain?

 

[inha]

Generaly, is it the accepted view that reductionism fails?

Amoung condensed matter physicsts is it a common view. And CM physicists are the majority.

 

[cscott]

I do not undesrand your question very well, can you explain?

I meant that if I were to poll practicing physicsts, what would be the majority view on reductionism.

 

[Juan R.]

I meant that if I were to poll practicing physicsts, what would be the majority view on reductionism.

Aha!

Well, inha already explained the topic on condensed matter. Their favourite phrase is More is different launched by Nobel laureate P. W. Anderson. The phrase means that condensed matter is not trivially reduced to applied particle physics.

Physicists working in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, almost all of the comunity of complexity and chaos and other are antirreductionist.

Particle physics and string theorists (the same) are reducttionists, but is easily explained particle physicists or string theorists newer have solved complex problems. Moreover, that is usually said by people like Ed Witten, B. Greene, or S. Weinberg on chemistry and reductionism is incorrect. E.g. last article on the topic by Weinberg is completely wrong and just reflects a complete misunderstanding of Weinberg in chemistry and other stuff. Weinberg is a pure reductionist.

Gell-Mann was a pure reductionist when was particle physicist but when begin shis research in complex systems in the Santa Fe institute changed his mind and now admits that research in others disciplines is so fundamental like pure particle physics. Still Gell-Mann is wrong in some important details.

In other disciplines Reductionism does not work. It does not work in chemistry, for example Nobel laureate Jean Marie Lehn already explained why. In biology or medicine reductionism does not work according to D. C. Mikulecky.

Etc.

 

[cscott]

Thanks for summing that up nicely, and sorry for derailing this thread a bit

 

[Caesar_Rahil]

Physics is a science on which every other science is dependant.

 

[Doc Al]

I think this thread has gone on long enough.