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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zonder who wrote (14679)	1/22/2003 10:49:38 AM
From: cosmicforce	Respond to of 28931

<Some kinds of experiments aren't very repeatable - those predicting chaotic motions. Could you give an example? I am not sure what we are talking on here.> Any experiment involving vortex formation. Once the fluid flows at a certain speed, we know that it will become unstable, but not exactly how. I have created a vortex generator for my kids to play with. The inner workings can only be describe in general because they are sensitive to various initial conditions. It has two modes that are stable - one "gurgle" mode where bubbles work their way to the top and another, faster mode, where the vortex forms. Pendulum systems (like some executive desk toys) also have pseudoperiodic motion that is chaotic. The wave machines also are good examples.

To: zonder who wrote (14679)	1/22/2003 2:11:05 PM
From: cosmicforce	Respond to of 28931

I really liked the links, BTW. I do think that everything is alive if we use some definitions of life. I've yet to see an argument that gives a good litmus test for life. Mine seems to be good as any. L = log( C ) where L is a measure of life, and C is a complexity term related to the available number of states available to the system over time. So, by this model, a cell is much more alive than a virus, but maybe only marginally more alive than a sunspot or hurricane.