Fattie slug
13-12-2005, 00:13
Can something be dead if it was never actually alive?
This belongs in General rather than I.I.
Curse my internet. You won this round, Theao.
Bellabongo
13-12-2005, 00:21
Can something be dead if it was never actually alive?
You mean, like this thread?
:p
Curse my internet. You won this round, Theao.
:p
But in answer to the OP question:
The conventional definition is as follows:
1. Growth, full development, maturity
2. Metabolism, consuming, transforming and storing energy/mass; growing by absorbing and reorganizing mass; excreting waste
3. Motion, either moving itself, or having internal motion
4. Reproduction, the ability to create entities that are similar to, yet separate from, itself or consisting solely of entities that exhibit the quality of reproduction.
5. Response to stimuli - the ability to measure properties of its surrounding environment, and act upon certain conditions. This property is also called homeostasis.
There are exceptions to the conventional definition of course, a few examples being Virii, most creatures(Ie: Mules) that are hybrids and infertile, and a few other examples that I'm not going to get into.
There are also personal definitions that could be used, like computers or cars, as they seem to have a life and have developed a personality, but it is subjective of course.
You may as well ask the meaning of life, which BTW is 2
Heretic! Everyone knows that the meaning of life is 42!