[rahelzer]

The general principle that any problem you face, no matter how big, can be broken down into smaller and easier to solve problems, recursively, is the most important idea in human history.

Atomic theory is just a special case of this insight.

[drtillberg]

What is special about atomic theory is the supposition that there is an endpoint to recursive reduction. That at some point you cannot find anything simpler.

[Slackwise]

More succinctly, this is Reductionism:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductionism#Theory_reductioni...

[rahelzer]

There is a subtle difference between this and reductionism. Suppose your big problem is you are hungry. You could break this big problem into little problems in many different ways, e.g. [drive to McDonalds, get food], or [go to fridge, eat leftovers], etc.

Either way, you have solved your original problem, but you haven't reduced your original problem. Your original problem was not that you had to go to Mcdonalds, nor was it that you had to got o the fridge. Your original problem was that you were hungry, which is distinct from the solutions.

[digi_owl]

Except that chemistry is not just applied physics.

[jjaredsimpson]

What is it?