on an optical level, life can usually be easily determined as such. on a cellular level,
life still can be identified, perhaps even more easily. however, on an atomic level, the carbon, the
oxygen linked with hydrogen, is the same as any H2O, or any carbon. then, to go to a
subatomic level. to compare an electron from a carbon in a sugar in the human bloodstream to
an electron from a piece of an iron meteorite. no difference. mathematical law requires
them to be the same weight, the same mass, the same sign (negative).
Why should we decide that something is life, just because of the way it looks to the naked eye, or even
under a microscope. in essence, theoretically, every piece of matter is made of the exact same
stuff, just arranged differently. even subatomic particles equal a certain amount of energy
(as we found out in 1946 in japan), and if they could be entirely transformed into energy, there would
be no difference between the pure energy created by a proton and that of an electron, or that of
a neutron. i am no expert, so dont take any of this to be fact. i am just a teenager that
reads einstein and hawking, among others. all of what i wrote here came into my head as
a result of my interpretation of things written by people that knew so much more
that i ever hope to. --happitree