Reading practice 46
Still other scientists, mainly chemists and physicists, have asserted that it's not so much that humans are like other animals as that all living things are relatively predictable on a cellular level. Those scientists believe that all human interaction is, on some level, based in the laws of physics1. Strange as that may sound at first, it's not as outrageous as it seems. Hormones and other natural chemicals are released in response to some kind of stimulus, causing biological impulses. In order for the body to process those stimuli, however, a whole array of reactions has to take place2. At the most basic level, those reactions are caused by cells sending out and responding to electrical impulses. Those electrical impulses become chemical impulses, or neurotransmitters, which eventually trigger biological impulses. All matter is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, so by extension, all matter reacts to electrical impulses on some level3. Advocates of the electro-chemical theory claim that studies involving large groups of people demonstrate their point most effectively. Human interaction can be compared to the interaction between different particles—some are attracted to each other while others are repulsed, while the whole mass moves as a single entity4. If it's true that group interactions can be compared to the mingling of different particles, then an entirely new background could be created against which national and international dynamics could be newly considered.
One practical example of the convergence of scientific theory and human practice is the increasing involvement of scientists in the arena of criminal pursuit. Many police departments have realized that human behavior, even in flight, is startlingly predictable, if one knows how to find the patterns. That's where the academics come in; they're hired to look at the data accumulated by detectives and apply their knowledge of science to the case, trying to identify patterns5. These academics consider the behavior of other animals, but they also compare the data to the movement of particles and perform complex mathematical calculations. And6 more often than might be expected, they help solve the cases.
