Maybe a better response, but I put the "just" there for a reason. That's really all there is too it. Simple laws lead to incredibly complex behavior. Of course emergent phenomena can be incredibly hard to study -- I'm not implying in any way that biology is easy (it's probably one of the hardest fields out there). Instead, I'm trying to point out than many people entirely miss the fact that there is a lower level to it. Enzymes and viruses don't have desires and I've heard it described/analogized this way by far too many biology professors. (Just bump the pH up a little and the enzyme goes and does such and such...)

> Enzymes and viruses don't have desires and I've heard it described/analogized this way by far too many biology professors.

But it's such a useful mental model. It allows you to gloss over irrelevant low-level details while focusing on the aspects of the complex emergent system that are actually relevant.

> I'm not implying in any way that biology is easy

This is what saying it's 'just' emergent behavior comes off as, though. I understand (and agree with) your perspective, but being a little more tactical with your word use can head off pointless (as opposed to interesting) arguments.

Sure thing. When I posted that, I didn't even consider the possibility that it might be interpreted the way you stated, so I will attempt to assess my future posts in advance for potentially unfriendly perspectives.