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KaliYugaz · 3244 days ago · link · · parent · post: A Computer Just Solved This 100-Year-Old Biology Problem
That's not what the article said at all though. A massive "database of facts" had to be downloaded into the machine. And as any philosopher of science can tell you, those facts can only come within the context of an implicit research paradigm.
Don't get me wrong. I don't see this as a panacea. I am a biomedical researcher, and in you might be surprised how often scientists focus and search for 'a mechanism' when the idea is often ridiculous in a complex system of interconnected positive and negative feedback loops. My hope is that this kind of analysis leads to a more wholistic scientific understanding. That said, I don't buy that this is computational hypothesis creation. That's a very selective way of looking at what the program does, IMO.