On the Limits of Chemical Knowledge

Constraints on the representational capability of the language by which, in a simplistic yet truthful manner, chemists state knowledge of the spatial and electronic structure of molecules, are imposed by (a) the impossibility to prepare every conceivable compound bearing a specific structural fragment; and (b) objective limitations in our synthetic capabilities. Because intra- and intermolecular organization is depicted with a limited degree of detail, the prediction and explanation of chemical reactivity is hampered, and even more so our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying phenomena at higher levels of complexity. Epistemologically speaking, however, predictive failures are not entirely negative, as they often signal unprecedented chemical properties or events.