Understanding How Living Systems Really Work: Why Denis Noble Matters
Do you ever feel confused about how your body actually works — how you function as a human being? Most people do. We’ve been given a very narrow, reductionist view of biology, and it leaves a lot of important questions unanswered.
This is why I’m sharing the work of Denis Noble. He is one of the most important thinkers in modern biology, and his ideas open the door to a much deeper understanding of life, health, and human potential.
This post accompanies my video, where I introduce Denis Noble and explain why he has shaped so much of my thinking.
Why Denis Noble Is Worth Your Time
Denis Noble is best known as the father of computational biology. He created the first computer model of the human heart — not just the electrical signals, but the real emergent behaviour of heart tissue. That work changed everything about how scientists study the body.
But what makes Noble so valuable isn’t just his research output. It’s the way he thinks.
He refuses to simplify humans down to just DNA. He challenges dogma. He embraces uncertainty. And he draws from many disciplines — physics, physiology, systems theory, developmental biology, and more — to explain how living systems truly function.
Every time I study his work, I learn something that improves how I understand myself and how I live my life.
What the Video Covers
In the video, I talk about:
- Why reducing humans to “just genes” is naive and scientifically incomplete
- Why Barbara McClintock’s work (Nobel Prize) showed decades ago that gene expression is far more dynamic
- How Noble and others (like Michael Levin) help us look beyond determinism
- The importance of asking the right questions, not just collecting more data
- Why researchers who openly say “we don’t know yet” tend to be the most trustworthy
- How exploring systems biology helps you live better because it helps you understand how you work
You can find Denis Noble’s work and talks online — and once you start diving in, it becomes hard to stop.
Watch the Video
Here is the full video that accompanies this post:
https://youtu.be/s7N5Cj2lC0A
Further Reading and References
Do you struggle to understand how living systems work? These are excellent starting points.
Books by Denis Noble
The Music of Life: Biology Beyond Genes (2008)
A clear and accessible explanation of why the gene-centric view is incomplete.
Understanding Living Systems (2023)
A deeper, updated look at how life actually functions when viewed from a systems perspective.
Biological Relativity
Biological Relativity: Biology Beyond Genes
A powerful argument that no single level of biology — not genes, not cells, not organs — holds ultimate supremacy. Causation flows both upward and downward in living systems.
There is also an outstanding talk by Michael Noble that brings Biological Relativity to life. A few minutes with him shows just how much we still have to learn. His clarity and humility make the complexity feel beautiful rather than overwhelming.
Key takeaway: we cannot understand genes without context. Proteins don’t fold “because the DNA says so.” They fold according to their environment.
Watch the video
Biological Relativity: Biology Beyond Genes | Denis Noble
Here are a few pieces from this video that stand out:
How the heart begins beating.
Noble helped model how the first cells of a developing heart start the rhythm of life. He was one of the first to show how emergent behaviour creates function.
DNA and dogma.
He explains clearly why genetic determinism doesn’t hold. Genes are important, but they are not the master controllers people imagine them to be.
Schizophrenia and environment.
In one of the discussions (around 1:03:01), Noble highlights that the strongest correlation with schizophrenia is not genetics but poverty — which helps explain why it often runs in families. Environment matters more than people realise.
Why This Matters for Your Life
I study people like Denis Noble because understanding how humans work is one of the most powerful ways to improve how you live.
When you learn what your body truly is — a complex, adaptive, dynamic system — everything makes more sense. Your habits, your health, your mood, your resilience. You stop blaming yourself and start understanding yourself.
That’s why I encourage you to explore his work. A little curiosity pays back in years of insight.
Do you struggle to understand how living systems work?
