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From: TEDtalksDirector
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  • the minimal mutation rate is fascinating. However, I wonder if the 'informational level' is necessary, or what functional level it has.

  • Tough crowd.

  • just look for weird shit!

  • He sounds like the End of ze world narrator hahaha- good talk, hm... yes

  • try watching tht while high on weed...very weird nd funny yet perfectly easy :p

  • Out of all the TEDtalks, this blew my mind the most..

  • Very interested in the whole thing. The life-as-process is close to Dawkin's definition - it replicates, they compete, they evolve. It's also close to Lovelock's GAIA definition - a fragile system in robust equilibrium. The non-amino acid defeinition Adami allows, using avidians, (Tron?) and linguistic signatures is very 'equal opportunities', but does it embrace larger systems, e.g. is a star system alive? Is an economic system alive? and so on. Still I really love it.

  • This sounds like The Matrix

  • Ooooh man, religious folks should keep their beliefs for themselves.

    And yes, common sense should intervene when religious folks are trying to influence the public sphere. Religion, like spirituality, should be private, I don't care if you're Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew, whatever... keep it for yourself, and read about memetics.

  • How would the graphs look like after we've nuked ourselves into oblivion ? In other words can we also find traces of life that had been there before ?

  • nice talk. heh, i would say we are 'special', just not any more special than any other lifeforms...

  • holly fuck! This guy is GOD... of the computer viruses.

  • What an amazing speech!

  • Never thought of life in terms of an information storage/ processing thing. But it's true, each of us has a huge library of information in each cell.

  • now i saw skynet ancestor

  • could use those self-replicating computer programs to replace politicians...

  • Adamli is the Life-inator. In that his voice reminds me of Schwarzenegger

  • What a weird and a nice guy.

  • this dude is about as funny as child rape. What a horrific speaker.

  • @fiercefunky What does it say about me that I literally laughed out loud at this?

  • @Wheelsgr Hmmm, must specify - laughed at the comment - certainly not the failed attempts at humour.

  • @Wheelsgr that you're amazing :)

  • Your cave you told him

  • very clever approach

  • Great speech!

  • thank god you got rid of the hippies and brought in a scientist

  • Dinosaurs were Jesus' ponies.

  • @sukablianah2 stfu

  • @51674 jwpya

  • @sukablianah2 jesus can suck my dick, haha, hope you die of liver failure and never get a stem cell liver transplant in the future that was created by smart scientists and not religious dumbfucks

  • @conillusionist dude you are going downpath straight to hell, jejus will rape your ass in hell!!! you are fucked bitch

  • @sukablianah2 and two unicorns will come down from Olympus and make Allah cry since he beat up Odin and Thor while Buddha watched

  • @oaaserud Actually bible mentiones unicorned, therefore they exist somewhere probably. maybe in hell, where they will assrape your ass with their horns

  • @sukablianah2 and since you've sinned to, ill see you there

  • when are these talks going to start appearing in HD.. gees..

  • It's not funny. It's informative. And jaw-droppingly so.

  • 00:15

  • getting closer to the tricorder.

  • Very interested in the whole thing. The life-as-process is close to Dawkin's definition - it replicates, they compete, they evolve. It's also close to Lovelock's GAIA definition - a fragile system in robust equilibrium. The non-amino acid defeinition Adami allows, using avidians, (Tron?) and linguistic signatures is very 'equal opportunities', but does it embrace larger systems, e.g. is a star system alive? Is an economic system alive? and so on. Still I really love it.

  • I didnt understand shit. *Puts on Silly hat* Back to preschool for me!

  • Comment removed

  • He's a genius! xD

  • Math seems right but his oratorical conclusion about our "specialness" belies his talk & most definitely, my understanding of it. Nevertheless, I liked it for looking at a new & "special" way of considering another process when thinking about life. Chemists & others may come to a different conclusion. At this point, however, Avida will be of primary interest to computer theorists (especially, Singularists), the NWO, & sci-fi writers. Program getting into these politicized hands is a certainty.

  • I really like TED talks and videos like it, but if you can't realize that this isn't the place for religious beliefs or discussions, you shouldn't comment at all.

    I am not trying to offend anyone, I'm just saying: try to maintain it on a neutral level so we don't have another useless theist/atheist comment war that frequently start on science videos.

    I'm sure you have enough respect for me, and others who share my opinion, to at least take this comment in consideration the next time you post.

  • @youtubian2500 - Seriousley who cares? like why even put in the effort of making such a comment?

    It doesnt make you seem smart - rather stupid for thinking that whatever you had to say mattered.

  • @youtubian2500

    That's an absolutely dumb comment. What do you propose where people should discuss these matters? If you are physically hurt by these discussions why do you read them?

    How DARE you tell people what they can do or what they can't do?

    You are being an idiot who doesn't want the debate to bloom, who would rather not have people consider their stances on these important things and stay bigoted and ignorant about things. Good job, my dear. Now go back to your cave.

  • @d3st88 No. I didn't propose you should stop discussing such things at all, I was merely suggesting you do it where such discussions are actually appropriate.

    For instance a video that talks about god and his existence, or the implications of religion on society.

    It's like a discussion about opera when arguing about Harry Potter.

    -Bel canto is hard to master. It requires skill of pitch and volume control.

    -Well, Hermione can cast 'Sonorus', which amplifies one's volume of voice, so I disagree.

  • @youtubian2500 I agree with you, d3st88 is either trolling, a douchebag or is perhaps mentally challenged, but what do I know. Religious discussions do not belong here. <3

  • Venus !

  • 0:15

  • Its funnier if you're german.

  • HE SOUNDS FUNNY

  • Hello Star Trek :D

    "Bio Signature"...

    Star Trek should win the noble price for being the conceptual inventor of EVERYTHING.

  • A great, informative talk! This is a great way of looking at how we define *simple life, which makes sense in the context when we have a much greater chance of find that in our search beyond earth. When we start trying to define more complex life, especially intelligent life, then I think we will need to revisit the criteria for our search.

  • humans are too fragile to believe in aliens, but a human isn't...

  • It's a good presentation where the guy offers some very interesting answers to a very interesting question. Somehow, when I look at the comments below, the Americans have turned it into a debate about evolution versus the Bible.

    Creationist - 'We don't need science, it's all in the bible, bla, bla'

    New Atheist - 'Your belief in religion is illogical. your life is a joke'

    Creationist - 'At least I'm not going to hell like you'

    New Atheist - 'Resistance is futile' Etc, etc, etc...

  • @leconfidant No reasonable Christian will suggest "it's all in the Bible", and my comment says the exact opposite. i.e. that the Bible is (for example) is not a medical book and you should attempt to understand the work within the literary context. As for religion being illogical, my point was that it is unheard of in my country to be a leader of most any sort and deny the faith. (Of course there are some who are doubters). So how can we Christians be described as "illogical"?

  • @darwel007 I can think of HUNDREDS of ways, off the top of my head, that Christians are illogical. Without even trying, really. You don't even need to read; you can learn it on youtube.

  • @MrTStoddart Great. And that would be....

  • @darwel007 I'm suggesting you make an effort to look at the evidence yourself, as presented to you in bigger formats -- because it is an important thing to discover, if you don't know, and it does not fit into a youtube comment box. It won't take much effort, just reading. Try wiki dot Iron Chariots dot org, or The Reason Project.

  • @MrTStoddart And the "hundreds of ways" Christians are illogical are....

  • @darwel007 I think you have to read my comment again to see that I don't take sides here. I'm not citing my own opinion, I'm satirising the opinons I've seen. I just find both sides rather extreme.The atheists judge the christians illogical and the christians judge the atheists amoral. I myself am a Buddhist living in Japan, and from here, each side is ridiculous, like two bald men arguing over a comb. My personal opinion is they should leave each other alone unless it's unnavoidable.

  • @leconfidant Atheists believe that since ALL religions are not based on reason and logic they can not be taken as truth. There is no evidence for gods, reincarnation, and any form of conscience to survive beyond the body, because it is a natural phenomenon that occurs through the activity in our brain cell, but this stone cold truth does not make life less beautiful or enjoyable. And if I assert that religious dogmatism is preventing people from living their lives more freely,I should interfere

  • @JohnnyKidder We had religion for at least 35,000 years and things slowly got better. No society improved without religion. Recent atheist exceptions (Stalin's Russia, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia) have not been encouraging. After just 200 years of modern science, we now have enough nuclear waste, nuclear weapons polution and global warming to make a biblical apocalypse a real life possibility. Thank you science. And you blame my Buddhism for infringing on your freedom? Go ahead and sue me.

  • @leconfidant Well, you have to define 'better', and decide if it was religion alone that made things 'better'. Perhaps it was completely separate from religion. Perhaps religion was slowing down what would have happened without it. Perhaps if we had developed the scientific knowledge we have now, thousands of years ago, we would by now have the answers to science's problems like pollution, nuclear waste etc. You can't just say 'religion existed, we're "better" now, so religion is great'.

  • @JaytheOstrich I said that religious cultures developed and non-religious did not, that's all. Those are the facts. You’re talking hypothetically, I’m talking historically, so the burden of proof is yours. You believe life got worse? And that there are definitely solutions to nuclear proliferation? In each case, go ahead and prove it. Nor did I say that religion did it alone. What I am saying is modern science IS alone in risking our total extinction. Nothing else has done this, only science

  • @leconfidant Prove what? I merely stated that your statements are vague. I certainly don't argue life is 'worse' in most ways. I don't know of solutions to nuclear proliferation, or I'd send them to every world leader.

    As to extinction, sure it is a risk. But if an asteroid hits the Earth big enough to cause a world extinction event, it wouldn't be due to science.. but thanks to science we might at least see it coming. Science isn't the only way humans could die out completely, just one.

  • @JaytheOstrich This thread was started by my exasperation that every video on science is accompanied by an irrelevant and non-constructive debate between new-atheists and creationists. The response has been both sides doing exactly this right at me. Now get this - I do Buddhism because it makes me happy. The way I eat food when I'm hungry. Sorry if that offends you. But I'm drawing a line here. IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING CONSTRUCTIVE TO SAY ABOUT THE LIFE SCIENCES TALK, PLEASE DO SO NOW OR DISAPPEAR.

  • @leconfidant Believe what you like, it won't offend me. Buddhism has many ideas I find interesting and makes way more sense to me than theist religions. As I said, my original response to you was just to say that I thought your argument was too vague to make much sense. Good day.

  • @leconfidant Ridicules...OK... For example.....

  • @darwel007 I'm not ridiculing anything. That's the evidence in front of you. Grow up and deal with it.

    I have great respect for atheism as an intelectual tradition, of which Buddhism was part. So I have no interest in ridiculing you. I'd rather be talking about the definitions of life that the guy on the video, but witness, when I complained that the Christians and New Atheists were hogging the debate, I got one christian moaning at me and then you. Now shut up and grow up.

  • @leconfidant Athiesm as an intellectual tradition is very shallow soil. And actually there is very little debate that occurs in these comments since relativism rules the day, which is essentially that no one is right because there is not truth. That is an absurdity that goes unchallenged.

  • @darwel007 Like it or not, atheism is in any philosophical tradition in any country that has one. Recent stars – Nietzche, Sartre, Russell are hardly shallow soil. New Atheists don’t know them. They read Dawkins and Harris and think they’re tooled up philosophers. Here's another non-relative truth – You and your twin johnnykidder are one and the same troll. Do you wear a gimp suit before you post your messages? Once more… You’re off-topic. Uneducated. Uninteresting. Go fail somewhere else.

  • @leconfidant You kind sir are a "classic". Agnosticism and Deism have some respectability but the atheist is a fool. Don't take my word for it. Read your bible. We can just let this whole thing play out. Just let the cards fall where they may. If you are right I'm sure you will be just fine.

  • @darwel007 - Depending on your definition, The "God-idea" has been proven false to the point you seem retarded for even bringing it up

  • when the firsts jokes didn't land he decided that he was going to be all ironic from then on LOL

  • @hwnzero to show that the notion of irreducible complexity is false, all one needs to do is to show that complexity can spontaneously arise. this was done. it was done to the extent that it satisfied the judge and jury at the kitzmiller vs dover trial.

    however, if the claim is "there are some things though that are irreducibly complex", then the burden of proof is on the people making the claim, and so far the burden has not been shifted or satisfied.

  • this is the man that refuted irreducible complexity explicitly.

  • Life is like a bone. When it's hard it's hard. but when it's soft you can't beat it.

  • Good talk, jokes are a little forced, but who cares about that.

  • Best pseudo-science I've seen in a while

  • this guy needs a new blazer

  • Why does this guy feel the need to try and be funny? Just be intelligent Chris.

  • A little more swiss accent - and *PooF* = Arnold Schwarzenegger das worsest nerdy comedian in all of the scientific world.. (Said with an accent ;)

  • @CKMagicBox german accent ;)

  • @CKMagicBox well, Chris is german, so his accent is german, not swiss ;)

  • hm.... ... a w o w moment...

    the Christoph Adami's chart from 14:08 - 15:45 was graphic proof that reflects a fundamental principle of 'living' ...of 'living' ...together ...and/or in relationship ...at a specific point he states "I turned down the heat so to speak" then at the line of 'equity' ...so to speak ;-]) the other lines sprung to 'life' so to speak ...brilliant...

    fascinating ... insight prevailed for a bit...

    then sadly the conclusion slid ...'sideways' ...so to speak

  • @gaiagale Yes, lines... good. Maybe someday you can look up the scientific details and make more informative arguments. You see Adami did come to a conclusion in case you failed to see it. Given that conditions are generous (e.g. low heat fluctuations reducing mutation frequencies) you can go a step further and compare distribution profiles based on availability of elements in case of dead matter, and if a deviation occurs, some process might be behind it, possibly a Darwinian.

  • @avdmeers thank-you for seeing my comment and for making time to reply ...in checking both obsevations I discovered that my initial comment was posted three times (I remember that when I posted I got an 'error, try again several times ... at the time a rechecked my post ~zero duplicates ) another thanks to you i was able to removed two. ...that aside in response to your reply ...I shared an observation (I'm done with argument)

    I did see... oops more the point ...I did hear Adami's conclusion

  • @avdmeers ...I 'get' your point too! ...still... it was his self observation "I turned down the heat..." that struck me as a partiularly brilliant gesture ...scientific yet insightful in terms of 'probability patterns...probabilites of interconnections...physical connection...at the subatomic level...we're all part of one inseparable web of relationships' ...life... whether virtual or material is on every level ...relationship

    again just sharing perspective ;-])

  • 8 creationists disliked this video

  • At the moment there isn't a DNA-equivalent in the digital environment. They are using virtual CPU's that execute evolving instructions but this isn't really the versatility of DNA which can be summed up as sequence that is sued to construct proteins which in turn interact with other proteins in numerous complex environments. Once this is achieved in the digital environment we will see the rise of a true AI, one that will value survival = bad for us.

  • 0:00-0:15 RIP Headphone users.

  • The christian excess.

  • y u no laugh?! :D

  • This guy owns. He's like the scientist version of Arnold Schwarzenneger. 

  • He has a strange sense of humor.

  • I knew it - he´s German.

    Only our people could have such a strange "humor" :)

  • @KingWak - Haha, I think he would have been funnier had his timing not been off. He seemed kind of nervous in the beginning.

  • actually if you had a lot of monkeys typing texts they would keep ramming the one button they saw did something. they tested that.

  • Don't be deterred by the top comment, this is really an awesome talk like I haven't seen in months (=

  • This man is stop on!

  • This was an amazing talk. I can also see that process working in relation to the Earth as a body and the different races of man as the various chemicals.

  • thank God.. they decreased the volume in their intro.

  • @darwel007 Your father? I dind't hear anyone mention their parents in this talk?

  • @geragna Of course you didn't because my Father needs no introduction. He is before all and above all. He says that I am the created thing most like Him. Why beat myself up?

  • @darwel007

    Agreed, Odin the all-father created Ask and Embla, from whom we all descend. I don't see how anyone could dispute this irrefutable fact.

  • @darwel007 Oh ffs... you only believe in god because you are a brainwashed guy like the rest of the freaks.

  • @GeneralRushHour OK. I give up! You win. Let's just ignore the time-tested arguments of the millions of "faith defenders" upon whose shoulders I stand. In my country a politician dare not challenge our Christian foundation upon which we have prospered. This faith may not rule all hearts but it stands unscathed.

  • @darwel007 It´s all BULLSHIT. NO PROOF.

    The only reason you are christian is because you grew up in that society. Had you been born in Jamaica you would have dreads and scream Bombaclat all the got damn time.

    Had you been growing up in the ancient Greek you would believe in Zeus and the rest of the gods.

    Do you see where i´m getting at? It´s all bullshit if you actually questioned it and read some instead of listening to brainwashed people following a book.

    Who wrote the book?

  • Comment removed

  • @GeneralRushHour . Let's not limit the creator to any one location. He is a bit bigger than that. There are about 100 reasons that folks do not believe and millions of books dedicated to refuting those 100 reasons. Check out any library. Ask a politician. I'm sure they can direct you there.

  • @darwel007 You condescending pretentious douchebag :P. I wish i could meet you!

  • @Musabre . 100 years ago in this country few would question our national religion so perhaps I am a bit nostalgic. Just because it has become fashionable to defame Christianity does not mean that sensible people are doing it. I don't fear science, evolution, or any ism since all are subject reasoned debate. Seems our maker set up each generation to have its doubters. Left just enough room for doubt. How incredible was that!

  • @darwel007 You only believe in a creator because you are brainwashed.

    Do you also believe in that the world is flat and rests on 4 pillars? It says so in the bible.

  • @GeneralRushHour If you are serious about reconciling the Bible with Science you need to entertain yourself with the reasoned discourse at reasons.org or any of the other hundreds of related sites. Better yet just go outside and look at creation. You'll see the whole gospel. The Bible just explains it all a bit more clearly.

  • @darwel007

    "In my country a politician dare not challenge our Christian foundation upon which we have prospered. This faith may not rule all hearts but it stands unscathed."

    it's stifling.

    it stands unscathed because its excess scathes all else first.

  • @xjustamem0ryx To what excess do you refer?

  • @darwel007 Look, you can believe whatever you want. Just know that whatever religious or spiritual belief you pick up is separate from science. Life is fantastically awe-inspiring and the fact that our own lives will end brings us deep fear. These two things contribute greatly to the beliefs we are talking about and allow them to endure, which is fine, but you have to understand that science is based on reality. Just think of all the problems that come up from one being threatened by reality.

  • @darwel007 Look, you can believe whatever you want. Just know that whatever religious or spiritual belief you pick up is separate from science. Life is fantastically awe-inspiring and the fact that our own lives will end brings us deep fear. These two things contribute greatly to the beliefs we are talking about and allow them to endure, which is fine, but you have to understand that science is based on reality. Just think of all the problems that come up from one being threatened by reality.

  • @dudepal187 Who cares what I believe. Just a man. Nothing more. Only interested in the revealed truth which is out there for any of us that seek for it. Don't claim to have it all figured out either. I'm probably tracking pretty well because it does appear the whole of history is confirming my world view. No bragging. I did not decide how God would reveal himself. All religions have some "truth". But I still prefer to ride the best horse running.

  • @darwel007 '...revealed truth...'? Then why do u put your trust in 'belief in superstition'?

    Tell you what, if u should ever be confronted with a life threatening illness u can thump your head ten times with a bible of your choosing, while I seek the best scientifically educated Drs. and technology money can buy..let's see which "truth" wins out.

    "All religions have some 'truth'"...and a whole lot of B.S., savagery, etc.

    Sorry, but "The best running horse" has not gotten very far in 2,012 yrs.

  • @azcentralsurprise . Just because the bible is truth does not mean that is comprises "all the truth". This is not a medical book although where it speaks it does so with authority. I've got medical insurance and do not plan on pulling out a bible to cover a wound. On the horse thing... If you are an American you must be blind. I don't see any of our leaders questioning the truth of this Christian faith. The people would not let it stand.

  • @darwel007 sorry 'bible is truth does not mean that is comprises "all the truth"' is the illogical.

    I fail to find Truth about anything in bible, other than how violent and ruthless god is depicted.

    The horse thing..'our leaders' are a bunch of Crooks, Liars and Perverts. All they know is how to line their pockets with our money.

    OK this is a Christian Nation..Jehovah Witnesses in the White House? You on board with that?

    BTW, There are countless millions of Christians who pray for healing.

  • Comment removed

  • @darwel007 You should read about science, biology and astronomy.

    After you are done you will realise that there is no space for a God. There just isn´t.

    Religion have NO TRUTH at all, don´t come here and release propaganda like the rest of the brainwashed society.

  • @GeneralRushHour I'll leave the science to the scientists. The Bible may not be your "truth". You get to make that choice and defend it. I hope you will and help me find errors in my thinking if it exists. You may not like my form of theism but it is certainly winning the popularity contest.

  • @darwel007 You can find the errors by yourself but you won´t because like i said. You are brainwashed.

    If you read biology, learn math and learn about space and how it REALLY was created you will realise that there is no room for a god.

  • @GeneralRushHour Well, I've read bio, maths and studied physics in great detail. I still believe in God. Just because you know how God is working that doesn't mean God is not there. See?

  • @aishwaryapankaj You must have been sleeping in class then.

    "Just because you know how God is working that doesn't mean God is not there. See?"

    What? I don´t believe in a GOD. Why? Because there is no room for a god in this world.

    Who created him? God2? And who created him? God3?

    And before our universe was created he just sat there rolling his fingers and now he spends the days watching us or taking care of dead people by judging them?

    THINK.

  • @aishwaryapankaj Also, do you belive in Santa Claus? If not, why?

  • @GeneralRushHour I get your point. I don't have a conventional idea of God though, just how the laws of physics and nature work forms my idea of God.

  • @aishwaryapankaj Yes i know, that´s what´s weird.

    You automatically assume there is a God. You can´t see the wrong in that?

    Why can´t nature just work like nature?

  • @GeneralRushHour Nature is just working like nature. Its got its own intelligence. I'm just calling it God.

  • @aishwaryapankaj Now you are starting to make a little more sense.

    Well in that case i agree with you. I thought you were talking about a creator that created this place.

  • @dudepal187 Unfortunately I have never feared death (nor does any other healthy person) but I wish I had a healthy "fear of God". From this perspective I could properly align my thinking with the priorities that would make me truly happy. And the part about how what we "think about the future" does not affect the future. The fact that I will die (and I consequently think about that fact) does not change how God ordered the universe. How presumptuousness that would be of me.

  • @darwel007 To believe in the bible you must do two things.

    1. Not believe in math.

    2. Not believe in evolution.

    Everything in this world is math. IF the bible was true then math as we know it can´t co-exist.

  • @darwel007 I wasn't talking about you personally here, I'm talking about why religious an spiritual beliefs still exist. I think you missed my point that science and religion are separate. Belief is belief, we use it to find a sort of peace of mind and it has its benefits and its limits. Science is facts and evidence and we use it to answer questions. Don't try to merge the two, it only causes problems.

  • IF THIS CAN BE PUT TO USE IT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE HUMAN KNOWLEGE ITSELF

  • Intro/outro is not loud!! is the speech what is low, the level of intros and outros is just right.

  • riveting. great talk!

  • One of the most insightful videos I've seen from TED! Awesome!

  • This is a great talk! Very interesting!

  • Great talk. For those complaining about him being full of himself or wasting research money, I'd like to see them get up on Ted and talk for 18 minutes about their own (no doubt) brilliant ideas.

  • Good speaker very easy to understand - good concept.

  • Now evolve artificial life into artificial intelligence! Onward science!

  • annnooold

  • It was a good talk. Research money well spent.

  • Great talk! So.... Did they analyze the Mars stuff yet?

  • Humor is supposed to be a sign of intelligence. Clearly he was a genius, but tragically he was not funny. Still a good speech with some humility thrown in at the end there.

  • 0:00 if you're not a pansy. Come on people, it is not that loud. If the only thing you're getting out of these videos is that the intro is louder than the video, then you're watching them wrong.

  • @greenschmoodle

    I watch these videos primarily because of the context,

    not to jump from my chair because sound is exploding in my earphones.

    As for me i'd love to watch pure content without those overly loud intro/outro.

    It is not "the only thing" it is just consistently loud on every freaking video,

    so 0:15 if your hearing is more important than TED audio producers overinflated ego...

  • @SEThatered 0:00 if you rolled your eyes.

  • @greenschmoodle Some of us have higher standards than others.... I think you know where you are.

  • haha good speaking.