Why is it that we can describe the physical properties of macroscopic objects of zillions of degrees of freedom with just a handful of variables? Why isn't it possible to describe, in general, living systems (a cell, an organism, an ecology or an economy) in the same way? 

This blackboard talk claims to answer these questions (specially the second one) from a fundamental perspective based on statistical mechanics and information theory. The format encourages the most critical attitude from participants from all backgrounds.