ME> Life is a process of self-generating and self-sustaining action.
 ME> Life is that which must pursue specific courses of action in order to
 ME> continue to exist.
 ME> These actions may be automatic, as in a tree, or necessitate decisions
 ME> based in instinct, as in a wolf, or decisions based 
 ME> in thought, as in a
 ME> man.
A goldfish has a memory span of six seconds. It is not even near the bottom 
of the food chain. (I don't refer to it as an evolutionary chain, because I 
am a true creationist Christian.) An amoeba must have nearly no memory span 
at all. How does it pursue these courses of action nessecary for its 
survival? Brine shrimp are alive when they are inegg form. What constitutes 
that they have any life in them? Does a machine have life? A computer, for 
example, will draw power from a power source (electrical outlet), thus taking 
action to sustain itself. I guess I can't punch many holes in that 
definition, though. I'm stumped.
Nick Douglas, inferior reasoner (to you, at least)
--- Maximus 3.01
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