It is common for people to assume that chemistry works mechanically, and we have, in fact, been very successful at reducing a great number of biochemical intera

It is common for people to assume that chemistry works mechanically, and we have, in fact, been very successful at reducing a great number of biochemical interactions to pretty much raw mechanics. Also, life has a stake in reducing a stream of inputs into 'gated' processes, because life exists by providing a stable interface for its replicator core. However, this doesn't mean that the stream of inputs in all cases reduces to 'gated' processes. I agree that most of what makes up life is a grand, replicating automaton, but I think there is a soft core to it that retains the controlled unpredictability of a solution in brownian motion or a population in genetic drift.