New Books in Science, Technology, and Society Giuseppe Longo and Adam Nocek, "The Organism Is a Theory: Giuseppe Longo on Biology, Mathematics, and AI" (U Minnesota Press, 2026)
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Jan 21, 2026 
Giuseppe Longo, a mathematician and theoretical biologist, shares insights from his interdisciplinary critique of computational biology, stressing the complexities of life. Adam Nocek, a philosophy of technology expert, highlights the timely relevance of Longo's work. They argue against viewing organisms merely as computable entities, emphasizing the significance of randomness in biological development. The conversation dives into topics like the limits of mathematical computation and the philosophical implications of reconceptualizing biology beyond algorithms.
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Life Resists Universal Computation
- Living systems are not generic computable functions and resist being fully captured by algorithmic models.
- Giuseppe Longo argues biological specificity and historical evolution create non-computable behaviors.
From Programming Languages To Geometry
- Longo recounts his work on programming language semantics and geometric spaces of meaning.
- He links early programming concerns to later mathematical contributions in language design.
Negative Results Open New Theory
- Computability emerged as a productive negative result showing limits of formal axiomatic systems.
- Longo links these limitative results to biology's unpredictability and theoretical needs.
