Construction is Not Computation, and the World is Not a Theorem

Einstein’s theory of relativity overturned Newtonian physics in the early
1900s. Nevertheless “Newtonian” thinking has remained firmly entrenched in
science. Certainly all scientists now agree that at the subatomic level and at
near light speed, quantum physics overtakes Newtonian physics. But this
has had very little effect on biology, and has done nothing to overturn the
“reductionist” view of science, which says that everything is merely the sum
of its parts and all can be modeled by mathematics.

Stuart Kauffman and computer scientist Andrea Roli have written a new
paper that proves evolving biology in principle cannot be reduced to
computation. This is as devastating to materialistic science as Gödel’s
Incompleteness Theorem was to mathematics. In fact it is equivalent –
because it shows that evolving organisms embody incompleteness.
Induction not deduction. And induction cannot come from deduction;
therefore biology is not strictly computational.

Thus Kauffman and Roli have pulled the rug out from under ultra-traditional
views of physics. (Not everyone is going to be happy about this.) Here, Perry
Marshall and Stuart Kauffman jazz improvise on the vast implications of this
new, holistic view of the universe.

You can read their paper “The World is Not a Theorem” at
https://tinyurl.​com/stuartkauffman

Today I offer a simple explanation of cancer. It’s far bigger than just cancer because it’s a basic truth of all life:

The problem with cancer cells is that they are doing what they want to do. All the chemotherapy in the world will only strengthen their resolve to do it with more gusto. 

Cancer is not essentially about malfunctioning genes or broken parts. Those things are real, but they are symptoms, not the problem. If you want to cure cancer, start by making cancer cells want to go back to being a cooperative part of you. 

Read more »

When I was in high school, I was in the basement on a hot summer afternoon when I heard my dad arrive early from work. He walked through the door and broke sad news to my mom:

Betty, the cancer is back. 

Two years earlier, he’d been diagnosed with cancer in his kidney. After surgery, the doctors said they’d nipped it in the bud. We breathed a sigh of relief.

But now the second time around I listened from the bottom of the stairs as my mom went to pieces. Mom became hysterical and was an emotional wreck for the next several months.

It didn’t take a genius to see that dad’s outlook was not rosy. Eventually he got Read more »

Rob Berkley left this earth December 2019 as a result of cancer. 58. Rob was THE most empathic and warm-hearted individual in the entire marketing space (I’m not exaggerating). When you would sit down with him you would feel his warmth focusing on you like an infrared heat lamp.

He was one of my most valuable business advisors. Being trained by him and Victor Cheng was like having Oprah and Stephen Hawking together in the same room.

Stormy weather nearly prevented me from making his memorial at Martha’s Vineyard, but I managed to snag the boat ride and I’ll never forget the December 18 solstice sun streaming through the windows at his somber yet joyful gathering.

The other thing I will never forget is meeting his wife Debbie for the first time, right there at his memorial service. I had heard much about her, and she had heard about me, but we had never crossed paths.

I approached her in their kitchen and introduced myself. “Perry! I am so delighted to meet you!” She faced me squarely, looked deep into my eyes and connected, human to human. I instantly felt the jolt of her conviction and aliveness. She wrapped her arms around me, embraced me and welcomed me as though I were a friend of 25 years. Her energy was so palpable I was momentarily startled.

It only makes sense that Rob would marry a woman like Debbie.

Today I would like to share Rob’s last interview with you: a very candid conversation between Rob, Debbie and their caregiver and collaborator Meredith, describing humility and courage in the face a terminal diagnosis:

Read PDF transcript

Why does the world need both mathematical proof AND a $10 million prize verifying that we have failed to answer biology’s most basic questions? Why does the world need a science paper like “Biology transcends the limits of computation”? This video explains.

View the paper online in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology at
https://www.​sciencedirect.​com/science/article/pii/S0079610721000365

Read the interview transcript here.

Today if you’re diagnosed with Stage 3 or Stage 4 cancer, your chances of surviving are no better than if you lived in 1930. But your chances are 100 times better when catch it early.

What if you could catch cancer SUPER early – years before any obvious indication of a problem?

And what if you could then solve the problem at its roots so it never recurs at all?

Azra Raza is an oncologist Read more »

George Halvorson, founder of the Institute for InterGroup Understanding, reviewed Evolution 2.0.

He writes:

“I had the opportunity to function as the CEO of a small hospital system and then a larger hospital system. We did some things in those settings to make care better and safer for patients.

That was an extremely useful learning experience.

As a believer in classic Darwinism, I saw how hard it was for us to Read more »

Biblical Scholar Dr. Michael Heiser reveals a very important piece of information about how the Bible was written which directly impacts how we interpret it; The Bible was written FOR us but not TO us.

While this simple fact does not undermine the impact of the Bible on our lives, it does alter the lens that we read, interpret and ultimately apply through. 

Take the explanation of wealth as an example. Read more »

Dmitry Kukuruznyak

We get a significant number of submissions for the Evolution 2.​0 Prize. Unfortunately, most of them do not even come close. However, some make very respectable attempts to reframe the problem and this new entry by Dmitry Kukuruznyak  is above average. Dmitry is a physicist from Russia and I often find that, for some reason, physicists often bring a blend of artistry and rigor to these questions. He explores whether there might be a blurry boundary between life and non-life and has a lot of good observations about the unique characteristics of biology. You will also find detailed explorations of emergent properties in chemistry. His submission is followed by a thoughtful response from my research team explaining what he has and hasn’t achieved thus far. It is not without its problems but it raises good questions.

You can explore other past submissions, several of which are extremely interesting, here. Finally, don’t miss the interview I had last year on the Unbelievable? show with world renowned chemist Lee Cronin who assured us that he is someday going to win this prize.

Perry Marshall was invited to Notre Dame Business School to present at a masters level class on new trends in medicine and biology. This talk canvases a spectrum of issues from COVID- 19, virus evolution and the dark underbelly of cancer research.

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