A note in advance: this definition is the one that the author summarizes personally and applies not only to organisms based on biochemical reactions, but also to machine organisms developed from artificial intelligence
Organism: Under certain conditions, an object that can spontaneously create an object very similar to its own functional structure.
This definition guarantees that under certain conditions, the object will continue to flow and never die. Another: The object that initiates the manufacturing activity is called the parent, and the manufactured object is called the child of the parent. Sometimes it can also be said that living things (see note) are living things. This definition applies to other undiscovered life forms in the universe, including intelligent machine creatures, etc. Of course, it is more suitable for life forms that we are very familiar with on Earth.
explain:
1) Certain conditions: Usually many environmental conditions are required, such as sufficient energy supply, material preparation for forming another object, and external conditions that cannot destroy the object. There are long and short aspects. The definition cares about the outcome and not so much about the intermediate processes, which can be very simple, like prokaryotes, or very complex, like humans.
2) Spontaneous: There are many spontaneous chemical reactions in nature, and a violent chemical reaction can occur when hydrogen and fluorine gas are mixed at room temperature, H2+F2=2HF. The source of spontaneous power is usually a change in stability, which is called "entropy" change in chemistry. A simple understanding is that multiple substances in a higher energy state react to become substances with relatively lower energy and release energy. When the internal and external conditions are satisfied to form another object, it does not hesitate to prepare for the construction of another object and complete the final equipment, which can continue to create as many similar objects as possible. Not only to ensure the continuation of the species, but also to allow the species to prosper. Viruses can initiate biochemical processes and replicate DNA or RNA.
3) Manufacture: The word "reproduction" is not used here. Because manufacturing is more general, it can be applied to artificial intelligence.
4) Self: refers to the object that initiates the manufacturing activity;
5) Functional structure: structure, which refers to the three-dimensional spatial structure of the object. Function refers to the various functions that the object has, including ensuring its complete existence under "certain conditions", and especially important, it also has the function of producing "children", so the produced object can also produce the same Like objects, the proposition itself contains the concept of an infinite loop. Therefore, organisms can develop in an infinite loop.
6) Very similar: With the most core functions, the shape and structure are very similar. Because the offspring and the parent are not exactly the same, in fact, there is a certain variability. This variability will manifest itself as biodiversity in the long-term development.
7) Objects: Living things must be real objects, with mass, physicochemical properties, etc. It cannot be a simple computer program, such as a computer virus, or the thoughts of the human brain.
Life: The various activities that organisms perform in the process of assembling new individuals are called life. Combining the two definitions can also say that living things are living things.
Species: The type of living things that people use to distinguish different types of living things. According to the definition of organisms, organisms that are very similar in structure are called the same species. The very similar statement is too uncertain, and the suspicion of artificial agreement is very large. Whether the same species or different species has special institutions and personnel to define it according to its judgment criteria. Although DNA technology has developed very rapidly, it has not yet developed to the point where DNA can be used to define species, and most of them are only DNA controls. Organisms that are not structurally similar are different species. According to the definition of biology, the offspring and the parent will be somewhat different. Although they are very similar, after many generations, after living in different environments, biodiversity will be manifested, and different species will be produced.
Additional remarks or inferences:
1) Recombining the law of conservation of matter and energy according to the biological definition: To make another similar object, matter and energy must be obtained from the outside to form a new individual. Therefore, a living thing is actually a system that exchanges matter and energy with the outside world.
2) From the definition point of view: there is no concept of lifespan, each parent can make offspring infinitely, and the offspring can also make offspring of offspring... It is an infinite development process, and there is no explanation of lifespan for each individual , theoretically means that living things are immortal.
3) Since this definition has the concept of cycles, each offspring repeats each period of the parent, so any period of a creature can be called a creature. For example, a fertilized egg is a creature, an embryo is a creature, a minor is a creature, and an adult is a creature. Because the fertilized egg goes through a series of processes, it is equivalent to "manufacturing" a new fertilized egg with similar structure and function, which is consistent with the biological definition.
