Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical
descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an
exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is
prima facie evidence that theory, in the sense that physicists use the word, is
impossible in a biological context. For others, this contrast serves to
highlight a grand challenge. I'm an optimist, and believe (along with many
colleagues) that the time is ripe for the emergence of a more unified
theoretical physics of biological systems, building on successes in thinking
about particular phenomena. In this essay I try to explain the reasons for my
optimism, through a combination of historical and modern examples.
%0 Generic
%1 Bialek2015Perspectives
%A Bialek, William
%D 2015
%K biology
%T Perspectives on theory at the interface of physics and biology
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.08954
%X Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical
descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an
exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is
prima facie evidence that theory, in the sense that physicists use the word, is
impossible in a biological context. For others, this contrast serves to
highlight a grand challenge. I'm an optimist, and believe (along with many
colleagues) that the time is ripe for the emergence of a more unified
theoretical physics of biological systems, building on successes in thinking
about particular phenomena. In this essay I try to explain the reasons for my
optimism, through a combination of historical and modern examples.
@misc{Bialek2015Perspectives,
abstract = {{Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical
descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an
exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is
prima facie evidence that theory, in the sense that physicists use the word, is
impossible in a biological context. For others, this contrast serves to
highlight a grand challenge. I'm an optimist, and believe (along with many
colleagues) that the time is ripe for the emergence of a more unified
theoretical physics of biological systems, building on successes in thinking
about particular phenomena. In this essay I try to explain the reasons for my
optimism, through a combination of historical and modern examples.}},
added-at = {2019-02-23T22:09:48.000+0100},
archiveprefix = {arXiv},
author = {Bialek, William},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/25d4218e7db9d2ffbe431da6ecf0646c8/cmcneile},
citeulike-article-id = {13896071},
citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.08954},
citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://arxiv.org/pdf/1512.08954},
day = 30,
eprint = {1512.08954},
interhash = {4502fee1067d304609607631e9661440},
intrahash = {5d4218e7db9d2ffbe431da6ecf0646c8},
keywords = {biology},
month = dec,
posted-at = {2016-12-02 12:01:44},
priority = {2},
timestamp = {2019-02-23T22:15:27.000+0100},
title = {{Perspectives on theory at the interface of physics and biology}},
url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1512.08954},
year = 2015
}