Replies

Thank you for your replies!

xzins: The most intriguing is "live rabbit versus dead rabbit." What is missing from one to the other that makes it no longer living? Great question.

RWP: I find it amusing you both are so entertained by a point originally raised by Richard Dawkins.

Indeed, this from Dawkins:

If you want to understand life, don’t think about vibrant, throbbing gels and oozes, think about information technology
. — Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1986.

Since Dawkins is a rabid atheist, IMHO, this business of inviting mathematicians to the table was a death wish on his part.

The thing which is missing when a live rabbit becomes a dead rabbit is information (successful communication).

For Lurkers: Information (successful communication) is the reduction of Shannon entropy (uncertainty) in a receiver (or molecular machine) going from a before state to an after state.

There is no known source for information in the universe at this time. The areas available to science to look relate to the geometry: harmonics, fields, etc. Beyond that it is a question for theology and philosophy.

Moreover, when one investigates the Shannon theory applied to biological life – there are several ways in which a communication may be initiated within the molecular machinery. Among these are:

interrupt – such as presence of food, light, temperature, etc.

cycle – rhythm or timing

will – either involuntary (“will to live” “struggle to survive” “fecundity principle”) – or voluntary (choosing to move a finger, to fly away, to raid or defend, select a mate, etc.)

Since Dawkins is a rabid atheist, IMHO, this business of inviting mathematicians to the table was a death wish on his part.

Oh, given he's an Oxford professor and probably interacts with mathematicians on a daily basis - in fact, given that he was one of the first biologists to apply game theoretical insights to evolution - I doubt he's much intimidated by mathematicians.

BTW, if he's a rabid atheist, are you a rabid Christian?