Why Buy That Theory? What if the world is complex? Here,
symmetry is broken; there, the seemingly simplest of chemical
reactions, hydrogen burning to water, has a messy mechanism. The
means by which one subunit of hemoglobin communicates its
oxygenation to a second subunit, an essential task, resembles a
Rube Goldberg cartoon. Not to speak of the intricacies of any
biological response, from the rise of blood pressure or release
of adrenalin when a snake lunges at us, to returning a Ping-Pong
serve with backspin. Max Perutz's theory of the cooperativity of
oxygen uptake, the way the ribosome functions—these require
complicated explanations. And yes, the inherent tinkering of
evolution has made them complex. But simpler chemical
reactions—a candle burning—are also intricate. As complex as the
essential physics of the malleability, brittleness and hardness
of metals. Or the geology of hydrothermal vents. When things are
complex yet understandable, human beings weave stories. We do so
for several reasons: A-->B r