Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!lll-lcc!qantel!ihnp4!chinet!grc97!hurst From: hurst@grc97.UUCP (Dave Hurst) Newsgroups: talk.origins Subject: Re: The LIFE challenge Message-ID: <169@grc97.UUCP> Date: Fri, 26-Sep-86 11:58:57 EDT Article-I.D.: grc97.169 Posted: Fri Sep 26 11:58:57 1986 Date-Received: Tue, 30-Sep-86 00:31:21 EDT References: <45500088@uiucdcs> <900@cavell.UUCP> Organization: Gould R&D - Rolling Meadows, IL Lines: 45 > In article <45500088@uiucdcs> tullis@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU writes: > > So, I challenge anyone who reads this notesfile to the following > >challenge. The challenge is: > > > > What is LIFE? > > > > Some things are definitely alive (I am, and you presumably are if > >you are reading this). But how do we definitely draw the line between life > >and non-life? What properties does a system have to have to be A LIVING > >ORGANISM? > > LIFE is a vague term, as are so many words in our language. We have to > approach defining the term from two angles: the intensional (as you suggested, > listing the properties shared by LIVE things), and the extensional (listing > those instances of things we would like to consider ALIVE that do not fall > under our intensional definition). > > Jim Laycock I submit the following definition of life for your approval: Life is any system of processes which manifests self-organizing, self-reproducing, self-renewing patterns of behavior. I realize that this is a rather broad definition. It certainly encompasses anything that we might conventionally label as life. It also challenges our conventional perceptions of what life is. There could be many things which fall under this definition that we don't normally think of as being alive. I think that what this definition does do is give us some insight into what processes might have given rise to life-as-we-know-it, and what we should look for when dealing with life-not-as-we-know-it (e.g., self-reproducing computers, extraterrestrial life, or even Gaia). -- email: ...ihnp4!grc97!hurst David Hurst, KSC phone: (312) 640-2044 Gould Research Center flames: /dev/null #include "Who are you?" "I am the new number two." "Who is number one?" "You are, number six." "I am not a number, I am a free man!" "Ahahahahahahahahaha!!