Definition of Life

[Paul Kotchapaw]

Herbert Martin Sauro (hrs at aber.ac.uk) wrote:
: As regards a definition of life I think we should move on from the usual
: school boy/girl definition of 'growth, movement, etc...' and have something
: more modern. The 'old' definition is sometimes sometimes known 
: as Mrs Grem! (figure that out).

: I think is this modern age we can think of life as being composed to two
: components.

: 1) A set of instructions.
: 2) And a machine.

: The machine has two unique properties, 

: 1) It can duplicate the instructions.
: 2) It can read the instructions and carry them out. The essential part is
: that execution of the instructions is actually to make a copy of itself.

: We have here then a vicious circle, each part of the cycle dependent on
: the other.

: Once a duplicate of the instructions and the machine has been made a new
: copy of the life form has been created. The other force at work which gives
: the life forms a lot more spice is that the copying process is not
: error free, and thus mutations are introduced which under the force of
: selection means that the life form experiences evolution.

: The great question of course is how on earth (excuse the pun) did the
: cycle of dependence between the machine and the set of instructions 
: first get started?

: Hope this helps, perhaps it will be too clinical for some people.

: Herbert sauro

How does it make instructions for itself ie. learn new things?  Anything I
consider a form of life does.