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To: curiosity
However, a stupid individual, by which I mean someone with a low IQ, will not be able to complete a Ph.D. in biology in a rigorous program like Berkeley's. There's no way a stupid person would be able to pass all the required classes and exams, let alone successfully defend a thesis.

Out of curiosity, I wonder why some have referred to biology as a "soft" science. Maybe the intro course is, but as you move into higher levels, you need to understand and work with a good deal of chemistry. It isn't just memorizing a book.

97 posted on 09/01/2007 12:06:53 PM PDT by Hacksaw (Appalachian by the grace of God - Montani Semper Liberi)
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To: Hacksaw
Out of curiosity, I wonder why some have referred to biology as a "soft" science.

Well, physicists, or at least those I know (like my Dad), think anything that isn't physics is "soft."

They have this attitude because only physics attempts to understand the fundamental physical laws that underlie everything. In principle, therefore, if we perfectly understood everything there is to know about physics, we would be able to explain all of biology, chemistry, geology, etc. by simply applying the laws of physics to different contexts. Thus to a physicist, every other science is just applied physics.

98 posted on 09/01/2007 12:59:00 PM PDT by curiosity
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To: Hacksaw

The hardness is related to math, not difficulty. Physics, and astronomy, cosmology are all math. Maybe a few datapoints and then a pile of differential equations and tensor matrices relating those few datapoints.


99 posted on 09/01/2007 1:17:58 PM PDT by RightWhale (It's Brecht's donkey, not mine)
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