We all know the 4 instances in which we can find matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma. This is a schematic found on Wikipedia's site that represents the relations between these 4 standard and more known states in which matter is found through out the universe. There are some less known stats in which matter resides but they are found only in very low quantities and are man-made (Liquid crystal states, Superconductors and Superfluids).
These states are defined by the position and relative closeness between atoms/ions and electrons.
But i want to talk about a totally different state which matter takes and has been observed exclusively on our planet. I am talking about LIFE. Life is a very interesting phenomenon that can be manifested in an almost infinite number of ways and even if it has been studied since the human mind started to think, it still is one of the notions that doesn't has a clear definition.
When i say "life" what do most of you think about ?These states are defined by the position and relative closeness between atoms/ions and electrons.
But i want to talk about a totally different state which matter takes and has been observed exclusively on our planet. I am talking about LIFE. Life is a very interesting phenomenon that can be manifested in an almost infinite number of ways and even if it has been studied since the human mind started to think, it still is one of the notions that doesn't has a clear definition.
Well this is life as how many of us see it. But why isn't an artificial intelligence some other sort of life manifestation ? Just because man made it ? What is the boundary between living and non-living things ? And more importantly who decides what is alive and what is not. Well the answer to the last question is simple. WE decide that (we as in humans), because we think that we know a lot of things and because it seems that we're the only ones who can make that judgment we do it regardless if it's correct or not.
I like to think that everything that surrounds us is alive in one way or the other. I think that the whole Universe is alive as it's in constant motion and ever changing and evolving. Look at all the stars that die just to give birth to other planets and stars. We are all made from stardust and that is what we'll become after we close our eyes for the last time. If we think as life as the 5th state of mater there there is just a problem of time, till the strings of life will intertwine. Humans have the power to think about their place in the universe for only a few thousand years which represents an infinitely small period of time from an universal point of view. So just because we are unable to see past our own condition that doesn't mean that there is nothing else out there. The robot in the movie "the Bicentennial Man" was more alive than most of us humans.
To be continued ...
