are atoms discrete? we used to think so. we might never get a better model than quantum physics and it might still be wrong and fail to explain things. So there

are atoms discrete? we used to think so. we might never get a better model than quantum physics and it might still be wrong and fail to explain things. So there is a human idea of "discrete element" that we used to apply to everything - and as we look closer, it always breaks down. that doesn't mean it's a useless abstraction, but it is am abstraction - a tool for thought, a map, not the territory