Opinion

Life == Information In this post I will challenge what we mean by the word "life". Biological things are "alive" by definition, and by this we mean complex biological entities which can reproduce themselves. Added to this are biological viruses, which are on a less firm footing, since they are essentially parasites which can only reproduce in a host. Although we may die, our cells may not, for example our hair and fingernails carry on growing after our death. We can also think of ourselves as the sum our our genes, which live on in our relatives. Since computing we also have other things which are life-like, though we may not immediately call them "alive". Artificial life is where various types of life (or pattern) are simulated in a computer, and are perhaps bred for fitness using genetic algorithms. We also have Conways "Game of life" where spontaneous patterns emerge (and potentially reproduce) in a computer. There are other things which

Here is Richard Dawkins being grilled by Jeremy Paxman:

Borat banned? I've just seen one of the most hysterical films ever: Borat. Unfortunately this film appears to discriminate against minorities, such as homosexuals, Jews and Kazakhs. It certainly draws a fine line. However the film really pokes fun at Americans, Christians, anti-Semites and homophobes. It uses the naivety of Borat's comments to show how ridiculous some of these positions are, and shows the minorities acting reasonable (e.g. the Jews). By showing a happy-clappy pentecostal church, (e.g. talking in tongues) makes Christianity appear utterly ridiculous. Also the "running of the Jew" shows the fundamental misunderstandings people have of each others' cultures.