Re: "Hard" science and "soft" science...

[Leo Caves <***>]

The Venter video is worth a look
(http://www.edge.org/video/dsl/TED05_venter.html)

A few comments.
Extending the search for genes from particular organisms into the 
environment is quite interesting, but it would seem to me that it would 
be an ever expanding catalogue.

There is a large emphasis on collecting the component (gene) parts - 
and an analogy is made to the electronics industry where once all the 
parts are known, you can then build custom devices.   This seems, at 
face value, a profoundly mechanistic view.   We know its not the 
components identity that is important, its their (functional) 
relationships - the organisation.  (This is not mentioned).   Moving 
from the catalogue of parts to synthetic organisms is a leap of 
extraordinary magnitude (as stated elsewhere on this list).  However, 
in this case, it appears to be a purely empirical approach.

I note the prosaic way in which these fundamental "developments" are 
delivered.  Of course, one needs to be sensitive to the context in 
which the remarks are delivered, but if there is a deeper thread at 
work then it is not even hinted at.

I find it quite disconcerting.

Leo