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#1
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"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Kay" wrote in message ... In article , Franz Heymann writes "Kay" wrote in message ... And no 2 is an interesting one ... where do we draw the line .. how do we regard viruses, compared with plants, animals, fungi, bacteria ... That's a good question. I tnd to tink of anything which replicates itself as being in some sense alive, but that may well be wrong. Computer worm? Touche It's not so far fetched - this Universe seems to like patterns - perhaps life is simply another way of creating and maintaining patterns. Ideas which are able to perpetuate and defend themselves (e.g. religions) via their hosts could be argued to possess a form of 'life' too? |
#2
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"BAC" wrote in message ... "Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Kay" wrote in message ... In article , Franz Heymann writes "Kay" wrote in message ... And no 2 is an interesting one ... where do we draw the line .. how do we regard viruses, compared with plants, animals, fungi, bacteria ... That's a good question. I tnd to tink of anything which replicates itself as being in some sense alive, but that may well be wrong. Computer worm? Touche It's not so far fetched - this Universe seems to like patterns - perhaps life is simply another way of creating and maintaining patterns. Ideas which are able to perpetuate and defend themselves (e.g. religions) via their hosts could be argued to possess a form of 'life' too? Indeed, 'life' is a problem of definition, not of fact. -- Tumbleweed email replies not necessary but to contact use; tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com |
#3
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"BAC" wrote in message ... "Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Kay" wrote in message ... In article , Franz Heymann writes "Kay" wrote in message ... And no 2 is an interesting one ... where do we draw the line ... how do we regard viruses, compared with plants, animals, fungi, bacteria ... That's a good question. I tnd to tink of anything which replicates itself as being in some sense alive, but that may well be wrong. Computer worm? Touche It's not so far fetched - this Universe seems to like patterns - perhaps life is simply another way of creating and maintaining patterns. Ideas which are able to perpetuate and defend themselves (e.g. religions) via their hosts could be argued to possess a form of 'life' too? Shades of Dawkins' memes/genes ? Franz |
#4
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"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "BAC" wrote in message ... "Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Kay" wrote in message ... In article , Franz Heymann writes "Kay" wrote in message ... And no 2 is an interesting one ... where do we draw the line .. how do we regard viruses, compared with plants, animals, fungi, bacteria ... That's a good question. I tnd to tink of anything which replicates itself as being in some sense alive, but that may well be wrong. Computer worm? Touche It's not so far fetched - this Universe seems to like patterns - perhaps life is simply another way of creating and maintaining patterns. Ideas which are able to perpetuate and defend themselves (e.g. religions) via their hosts could be argued to possess a form of 'life' too? Shades of Dawkins' memes/genes ? Sometimes known as 'Dawkin's Bad Idea', because the metaphor is dismissed as simplistic - memes or ideas lack the internal set of instructions to replicate themselves. But maybe they do have them, and we simply cannot perceive them as such. |
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