Biology is more theoretical than physics.
Biology is more theoretical than physics.
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DOI：
10.1091/mbc.e12-03-0227
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发表时间：
2013-06
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Gunawardena J
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gunawardena J
“理论”一词至少有两种含义：一是指被广泛接受的定律或原理，如“达尔文理论”或“量子理论”;二是指一种推测性的假设，通常依赖于数学分析，尚未得到实验证实。人们常说，生物学中没有第二种理论的位置，生物学不是理论的，而是基于对数据的解释。在这里，我们扩展了前一篇文章中的观点，相反地，我们认为第二种理论一直扮演着关键的角色，因此，生物学比物理学更具有理论性。
The word “theory” is used in at least two senses—to denote a body of widely accepted laws or principles, as in “Darwinian theory” or “quantum theory,” and to suggest a speculative hypothesis, often relying on mathematical analysis, that has not been experimentally confirmed. It is often said that there is no place for the second kind of theory in biology and that biology is not theoretical but based on interpretation of data. Here, ideas from a previous essay are expanded upon to suggest, to the contrary, that the second kind of theory has always played a critical role and that biology, therefore, is a good deal more theoretical than physics.