Lean proofs test Michael Levin's bioelectricity theory: math holds at 88%, 'Platonic' extra scores 0%

ProfBuehlerMIT · x · 2026-11-13

At an AGI House SF talk on "Formalizing Bioelectricity," mathematician-historian Joel Dietz translated seven claims from Michael Levin's latest paper into runnable code, Lean proofs, and pre-registered predictions. The math held up at 88%, while the proposed non-physical "Platonic" ingredient scored 0% — ordinary local rules already explain every result, though "not needed" isn't "false." The talk covers what a predictive language linking voltage patterns to genes and body shape could look like, the test any extra ingredient must pass on unseen data, and a fish-shape law that held across 10,000+ species but went 0-for-7 on hornet wings.

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