When does a pattern become an explanation?
Compare symmetry, information and models across mathematics, physics and living systems. Similar vocabulary does not establish identical mechanisms.
Ways into the question
Begin with Emmy Noether
Which assumptions connect a symmetry with a conservation law?
Begin with Claude Shannon
How can a message carry information without being meaningful or true?
Begin with Chien-Shiung Wu
How can an experiment test whether a symmetry holds?
Begin with Evelyn Fox Keller
How can a metaphor influence a scientific question?
Thinkers to read
Emmy Noether
Mathematical work on algebra and the relation between continuous symmetries and conservation laws. Begin with a precise statement and its assumptions.
Claude Shannon
A mathematical account of communication under uncertainty. Separate the quantity of information in a model from the meaning or truth of a message.
Chien-Shiung Wu
Experimental physics, including a test of parity conservation in beta decay. Reconstruct the prediction, arrangement and observation before discussing the historical recognition.
Evelyn Fox Keller
Historical and philosophical work on scientific explanation, gender and the language of biology. Examine what a metaphor makes researchers look for.