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The Search For What It Means To Be Alive (And Human)

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"Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution."

That's the so-called "NASA definition of life."

Or there's Russian-born geneticist Edward Trifonov's take: Life is "self-reproduction with variations."

Or there's "Life is an expected, collectively self-organized property of catalytic polymers." Or "Life is a metabolic network within a boundary."

It's said that, "There are as many definitions of life as there are people trying to define it." And yet, none of those definitions is quite right.

Science writer Carl Zimmer says that's strange behavior for scientists: "It is as if astronomers kept coming up with new ways to define stars."

Plus: Linguist Ben Zimmer (no relation to Carl*) on what it means to be human. Or, at least, as much as we can tell about what it means to be human by looking at Dr. Fill, the artificial intelligence that just won a national crossword puzzle tournament.

*No relation beyond that they're brothers, I mean.

GUESTS:

  • Ben Zimmer - A linguist, lexicographer, and the language columnist for The Wall Street Journal
  • Carl Zimmer - The science columnist for The New York Times; his new book is Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means To Be Alive

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Jonathan is a producer for ‘The Colin McEnroe Show.’ His work has been heard nationally on NPR and locally on Connecticut Public’s talk shows and news magazines. He’s as likely to host a podcast on minor league baseball as he is to cover a presidential debate almost by accident. Jonathan can be reached at jmcnicol@ctpublic.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

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