Newsgroups: comp.ai.alife
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!jussieu.fr!univ-lyon1.fr!swidir.switch.ch!news.unige.ch!usenet
From: sylvere@unige.ch (Silvere Martin-Michiellot)
Subject: STOP blahblah on LIFE #1
Message-ID: <1995Feb7.171215.21796@news.unige.ch>
Sender: usenet@news.unige.ch
Reply-To: sylvere@unige.ch
Organization: University of Geneva, Switzerland
Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 17:12:15 GMT
Lines: 41

All right, I think that defining life is a problem that could produce interesting results, don't you ? So, we have to be productive.

I propose (but, it's up to you to propose something else) everyone to put his name, his first name and then his definition in one single following mail. Then, let's say next Monday, everyone will propose a new definition in the same way on a new single following mail, after having read all the definitions of the previous week. If you agree with someone else's definition then it is no longer necessary to put a new definition, just simply add your name to the definition of the guy you agree with. The process
 stops by itself when there is only one definition left.

Just 2 IMPORTANT notes :
	EVERY time you change something to the message (whatever), add 1 to the number in the subject line.
	IF you want to comment this idea, DELETE the number in the subject line.



FIRST IDEA :
NAME : Silvere Martin-Michiellot
TITLE : Life cannot be defined a priori
EXPLANATION : Life detectors don't exist. The idea of what is alive is simply cultural : what is considerer as "inert" today could be considered as living tomorrow. Thereafter, we cannot say that things we could find on another planet would be alive or not. Conclusion, the only way to define life is to choose arbitrary criterions.

SECOND IDEA :


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"Is anyone alive down there ?"

     sylvere@divsun.unige.ch 
   

Silvere MARTIN-MICHIELLOT
TECFA (Educational Technologies and Learning),
Faculte de Psychologie et des Sciences de l'Education,
University of Geneva,
9 Route de Drize,
1227 Carouge (Switzerland)

Phone: (..41) 22 705 9691, Fax: (..41) 22 342 8924

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