And if molecules and atoms not enough, then something — tim wood

I appreciate the effort! Seriously. But I'm questioning whether the origin of life and the nature of mind can ever be derived from physical laws and principles. And the answer to that is, what other kind are there?

Again I say, do you, did you, read closely what you wrote? What exactly does any natural thing of any kind have to do with derivations and laws? They come after as attempts at accounting. Absence of account does not mean unaccountable. And if it happens to be unaccountable, that does not mean unnatural - thank QM for that!

And if that is all you mean, that some problems in accounting seem intractable, well I am confident that there are many such problems.

And some no doubt due to the very nature of language and inquiry. And it's interesting in itself how often, how quickly, and how glibly inquiry settles on the impossible for its final answers.

It goes to what knowledge is. Some hold knowledge is found in ultimate answers - and why not when that's possible? And in any case, knowledge is always already found in answers that are proportionate, balanced, contextualized, and focused. It may be my chair is ultimately a bit of energized electricity, but for all that, it is still my chair. And which is the ultimate answer?