But physics turns out to NOT be a smooth gradient, there are steps, aka quanta, that's why they call it quantum physics or quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics and quantum chromodynamics.

At certain steps - not every step, but at certain mathematically defined points - thresholds are crossed and things behave differently, more energetic or complex phenomena emerge.

Oh for sure. No argument here

I've always liked Hank Green's interpretation of life. In that it's a dynamically stable chemical system. Rather than a statically stable one. Like how a rock doesn't change much but a human is changing constantly. Yet both maintain their chemistry in more or less a balanced state