"Miles Maxted" bravely wrote to "Greg Paksi" (30 Nov 04
 05:18:00)
 --- on the heady topic of "Re: a scientific answer"

 MM> G'morning Greg,

 GP> I'd like to get opinions and thoughts on the question of "when
 GP> does an individuals life begin"?

 MM> Err ... "individual" is fine, but what do you mean by
"life" ?

 GP> As far as what I know of science, it would have to be the instance
 GP> the two sets (male and female) of chromosomes join together.

 MM> That certainly is the essential moment that kicks off the start of
 MM> a new human,  with a random selection of parental chromosomes.

Why are we restricting the discussion to human beings. Take for
example a plant seed, let's say a bean. It can remain in a dry solid
state for 10 years and will spontaneously come to life by simply
adding water. I heard of ancient Egyptian wheat found in tombs, that
germinated after surviving for eons in a dry state. Life was still
there somehow. If we can't understand this transition from inert to
alive we can't hope to understand something as complex as humans.
We can only dabble blindly as we are doing now.

 M*i*k*e

... How do I get into reality's God Mode?
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30