The DemystifySci Podcast Where Biology Goes Off the Rails - Dr. Michael Levin, DemystifySci #369
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Oct 3, 2025 
Dr. Michael Levin, a synthetic biologist from Tufts University, challenges traditional notions of life. He argues that cognition emerges far before cellular structures, suggesting a continuum rather than binary definitions of life. Levin discusses how simple networks exhibit behaviors like habituation and learning, revealing insights about biological systems. He emphasizes the importance of operational definitions and how understanding cognition can reshape our interactions with nature, suggesting that higher causal emergence can even enhance learning in molecular systems.
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Prefer Continua Over Binary Labels
- Binary labels like "living" vs "non-living" create pseudo-problems and block useful cross-disciplinary tools.
- Levin argues for continuum views that let us port cognitive tools across systems for better understanding.
Definitions Should Match Your Tools
- Define concepts by the tools and interactions you plan to use, not by fixed folk categories.
- Levin prioritizes the spectrum of cognition over the label "life" for scientific progress.
We See Only A Sliver Of Minds
- We are evolutionarily blind to much of the space of possible minds, like we were blind to the full electromagnetic spectrum.
- Levin proposes science should expand our aperture to detect and unify these mind-like phenomena.