Unbelievable? Classic: From Chaos to Code: Do we need a new theory of Life? Paul Davis vs Jeremy England
Mar 31, 2026
Jeremy England, a physicist studying how energy flows can self-organize matter and ordained rabbi merging science and faith. Paul Davies, theoretical physicist exploring information’s role in life and cosmic intelligibility. They debate whether thermodynamics and energy-driven order can birth life, discuss the hardware-versus-software problem in cells, RNA-world possibilities, and whether a life-favouring universe hints at deeper principles.
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Dan Brown Used Jeremy's Work In Fiction
- Jeremy England learned his ideas reached broad culture when Dan Brown used aspects of his work in a novel and invited him to lunch shortly before publication.
- He says the portrayal wasn't accurate, motivating him to present his own account in writing.
Schrödinger And A Martian Meteorite Shaped Paul's Path
- Paul Davies' shift into origins research was catalyzed by Schrödinger's What Is Life and Martin Rees's 1983 'From Matter to Life' conference.
- He later moved into astrobiology after the 1996 Martian meteorite announcement broadened interest.
Energy Flow Drives Shape Dependent Self-Organization
- Energy flow through an open system biases the exploration of molecular shapes because absorption depends on structure, creating a feedback loop between shape and energy uptake.
- Jeremy England calls this a physical generalization of Darwinian selection where shape-dependent energy transduction steers organization.
