Comment by bee_rider

It would sort of be funny to see the best alchemist get the explanation. “Oh dang, I was not even close.”

It is somehow radically simpler in terms of fundamental underlying rules, and radically more complex in terms of… I dunno, emergent complexity or something.

Edit: imagine,

Alchemist, “But then we were right, it is made up of a small number of tiny discrete elements at the lowest level?!?”

Modern physicist: “Oh man… ah, yeah, but here’s the thing about ‘discrete’…”