Physicist Eric Hedin: Information Processing as a Hallmark of Life
What if life isn’t just a collection of molecules bumping around? What if every living thing, from a single cell to a human being, is doing something much more surprising—processing information and communicating in complex, purposeful ways? On this episode of ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a two-part conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin, a physicist and author who’s been asking bold questions about the hidden patterns of life. He’s argued recently that the way living systems handle information—and communicate—is more likely evidence of intelligent design, not blind, undirected processes.
In a previous episode, Hedin explains why life is the most unnatural thing in the universe. Here, Hedin adds to this argument by unpacking the first of two “biosignatures” that make living things so rare: information processing. Life doesn’t just react; it makes choices. This includes human decision-making based on sensory input (like assessing the weather to decide to hurry home or use an umbrella). Information processing also occurs unconsciously within the body, such as the nervous system regulating important body functions like emotions, behavior, heart rate, and digestion. Even at the level of the simplest single-cell organisms, there is complex communication involving enzymes and recurring design logic to detect and respond to stimuli. Contrast this with non-living matter. Rocks, stars, water droplets, and other examples of non-living matter are governed by simple physical laws, forces, and atomic compositions, without purpose or intent. Unlike living things, they do not make goal-directed choices.
The idea of cognition—the capacity to make genuine choices and act creatively to pursue goals—is not a brand new concept in biology. However, Hedin points out that contemporary research suggests even single-celled organisms like bacteria are sentient beings that utilize sophisticated mechanisms for intercellular communication. The key question? If complex living systems are merely a “fortuitous concourse of atoms” as some evolutionary biologists claim, how do they gain cognitive powers? Dr. Hedin argues against the emergentist view, which suggests that complexity (like consciousness or communication systems) simply emerges from complex biochemistry. He considers this non-scientific, stating there’s no evidence of complex, functional mechanisms emerging naturally without intelligent input. He emphasizes that new information is required for life to emerge, and Darwinism does a poor job of explaining the origin of new biological information.
This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 next!
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