TY - JOUR
T1 - Perspectives on theory at the interface of physics and biology
AU - Bialek, William
N1 - Funding Information:
Thanks to the Simons Foundation, and to many colleagues involved in the 2014 workshop, for the opportunity to sharpen the ideas expressed here. Thanks also to Lee Morgan for transcribing the lecture. My own work on these problems has been in collaboration with many others, as can be seen from the reference list, who have made these explorations a pleasure. We have been supported in part by the National Science Foundation, most recently through grants PHY– 1305525, PHY–1451171, and CCF–0939370, by the Simons Foundation, and by the Swartz Foundation. Special thanks to CG Callan and MO Magnasco, for many long conversations about what it is we all are trying to do.
Funding Information:
We have been supported in part by the National Science Foundation, most recently through grants PHY-1305525, PHY-1451171, and CCF-0939370, by the Simons Foundation, and by the Swartz Foundation.
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - 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 am 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.
AB - 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 am 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.
KW - emergence
KW - neural networks
KW - precision
KW - statistical mechanics
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U2 - 10.1088/1361-6633/aa995b
DO - 10.1088/1361-6633/aa995b
M3 - Article
C2 - 29214982
AN - SCOPUS:85038855968
SN - 0034-4885
VL - 81
JO - Reports on Progress in Physics
JF - Reports on Progress in Physics
IS - 1
M1 - 012601
ER -