re:What is your definition of life?

Space/Science » in reply to It's my opinion, my conclusion, but now I have to say that there is no life within our Solar System and farther out too.

re:What is your definition of life?

Johannes — 3/31/2008 11:56:52 PM (archived)

I had a computer that died, I still do not know if it was alive.

I had a car and its engine died.

I had a dog that died.

Some friends have died.

In other words, they ceased to function.

From the fundamental viewpoint, if non-function is death, then the opposite must be life.

Molecules and atoms perform their function but we do not consider them to be alive.

How do you define life?

The whole thread (29 posts)

It's my opinion, my conclusion, but now I have to say that there is no life within our Solar System and farther out too. - Jacob - 3/30/2008 7:57:34 PM
- And if you are correct - Buck Galaxy - 4/2/2008 8:03:19 PM
  - Megadittos - phil - 4/4/2008 4:30:28 PM
  - Yea, I thought of the terraforming implications. You have certainly focused in on the human potential there. (n/t) - Jacob - 4/4/2008 12:40:07 PM
  - re: And if you are correct. - There it is: IF - Marcia - 4/3/2008 2:42:31 AM
- re: It's my opinion, my conclusion, but now I have to say that there is no life within our Solar System and farther out too. - Marsbug - 4/1/2008 2:28:11 PM
- Other possibilities. - Robert Clark - 4/1/2008 11:02:33 AM
- Sorry. - SDAI-Tech1 - 4/1/2008 8:00:34 AM
  - There ain't gonna be a test on this, is there? - McFly - 4/1/2008 8:48:06 PM
    - Yes, but you'll get to grade your own paper. ;-) (n/t) - SDAI-Tech1 - 4/3/2008 2:17:14 AM
- Insufficient Data for Meaningful Response (n/t) - MULTIVAC - 4/1/2008 7:19:19 AM
- re:What is your definition of life? - Johannes - 3/31/2008 11:56:52 PM
  - Anything with functioning DNA is a good start. (n/t) - Jacob - 4/1/2008 12:41:49 PM
    - re: Are you saying that the deoxyribonucleic acid is alive or - Johannes - 4/2/2008 1:08:17 AM
      - The key word is "functioning DNA" for anything that's carbon-based and alive. Fossils are another matter. (n/t) - Jacob - 4/2/2008 5:44:31 PM
        
        re: Functioning DNA is a combination of atoms that form molecules, are these molecules alive? - Johannes - 4/3/2008 1:57:43 AM
        
        You'll be disappointed in my answer. - Jacob - 4/4/2008 12:38:25 PM
        
        re: Thank you for your interesting answer. - Johannes - 4/4/2008 7:08:34 PM
- wrong premise - dd - 3/31/2008 2:44:37 PM
  - Valid point, but bacteria require a complex, energy-rich cyclical system to survive. (n/t) - Jacob - 3/31/2008 11:03:17 PM
- Everyones entiled to their opinion! - Marsbug - 3/31/2008 10:33:10 AM
  - Hey! If a LGM were to show up on my lawn I would change my mind. ;-) (n/t) - Jacob - 3/31/2008 10:48:50 PM
- Sorry, delusion alarm. You don't know with any certainty. Nobody does... (n/t) - et - 3/30/2008 11:32:50 PM
  - Sorry, silliness alarm...I used science to make a biased opinion. So sue me. - Jacob - 3/31/2008 10:47:09 PM
    - I'm a fundamentalist agnostic on this issue. - et - 4/1/2008 9:14:08 PM
- We never said it would be easy - nick hoffman - 3/30/2008 11:21:58 PM
  - It may be impossible....It may be asymptotic. - Jacob - 3/31/2008 10:59:19 PM
    - That should be X can never equal zero...Sorry for the typo.. (n/t) - Jacob - 3/31/2008 11:05:03 PM
- Nowhere? Not even on Earth? - pwokenyaw - 3/30/2008 11:18:17 PM

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