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From: viren@world2u.com (Viren Jain)
Subject: Re: ---<Definitions of consiousness>---
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Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 19:55:32 GMT
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 Interesting - believe me, I don't beleive flames are alive in some
sort of strange religious pseudoscience belief. I can see how the
definitions now would generally include many things usually not
considered as 'living.'

On 6 Jan 1997 23:52:06 GMT, trent@gpu3.srv.ualberta.ca (T Hoeppner)
wrote:
>Let's take the flame from a candle.  We can interpret the chemical
>reactions that result from combustion of the wax and wick as a
>consciousness.  It detects if it has changed the environment by the amount
>of heat that is produced and used in further acts of combustion.  So the
>definition of consciousness is satisfied.  The flame is alive because it
>is conscious, and it converts energy into a kind of movement.  The
>movement is at the molecular level - the products of combustion are hot
>and move away from the flame.
>
>Are you just amused by such reasoning, or do you actually believe it?  If
>the latter, then you have missed the point.  I personally do not believe
>that flames are alive.  I am merely using the "definitions" of the
>original poster to show how ridiculous the definitions are.
>
>-- 
>Trent Hoeppner   trent@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca

 -Viren Jain-
 -"The Robot Gods Are Coming This Way, and I want to Go With Them"-
 -viren@world2u.com
