Stress Testing the Definition of Life - Drs. M.S. DeLay & A.V. Bendebury, #299

Today we're bouncing off our recent conversation with evolutionary biologist, Dr. Michael Lachmann from SFI, and unpacking why the modern definition of life sucks and why it matters. We attempt to construct a more scientific (i.e. less circular) definition of life and take it for a walk in the park. As a test case we examine an inadvertent hypothesis, which stems from Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker, a science fiction work that supposes stars themselves have an interior life and that when they move according to gravity they are simply doing the dance of a school of fishes or drivers on a freeway. We pull out cases where the stars satisfy a scientific definition of life and also problems with the theory. The notion forces us to reconsider the limits of life and its possible forms in the universe.

READ OLAF STAPLEDON'S STAR MAKER: https://amzn.to/4fkT6jd

PATREON: get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB MERCH: Rock some DemystifySci gear : https://demystifysci.myspreadshop.com/ AMAZON: Do your shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/3YyoT98

00:00 Go! Importance of Defining Life 00:06:01 Rethinking Life's Definition 00:09:03 Anthropocentric cosmology 00:10:35 Beyond the Characteristics of Life 00:14:47 Life's Persistence 00:23:16 Harnessing Tension 00:26:14 Choice Makers 00:30:20 Information and Evolution 00:36:29 Life Beyond Earth 00:41:13 Cosmic Communication 00:44:12 Societal Replicators and Order 00:47:37 Communication and Understanding 00:50:03 Stars and Life 00:53:04 Fusion and Stellar Processes 00:57:00 Communication Across the Cosmos 01:02:08 Cosmic Hypotheses and Planetary Interaction 01:10:47 Galactic Dynamics and Gravity 01:13:31 Stars as Autonomous Entities; Olaf Stapledon 01:18:02 Implications on Life and Cosmic Interactions 01:22:29 Life's Potential Ubiquity 01:25:32 Science's Quest for Understanding

#LifeBeyondEarth, #LifeDefinition, #ExtraterrestrialLife, #starmaker, #CosmicPerception, #StellarLife, #Astrobiology, #PhilosophyOfLife, #CosmicCommunication, #GalacticDynamics, #StellarConsciousness, #UniversalLife, #ScienceAndPhilosophy, , #CosmicInteractions, #StellarProcesses, #LifeInTheUniverse, #Astrophysics, #SpaceExploration, #CosmicEvolution, #InterstellarCommunication, #LifeAndTheCosmos, #sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast

Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience

AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics

Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S

PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities.

• Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog
• RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss
• Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD
• Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y

SOCIAL:

• Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci

MUSIC:

-Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2vBLfMLXn4