Preliminary work / thinking before the lecture

This week you get to rack your brains thinking questions such as what is life and its various forms and distribution in the universe. There are three topics to consider before the lecture - they help you to get a more meaningful connection to the lecture topics, by prof. Valtaoja, so do yourself a favour and think about them in advance.


1. Definition of life

Sit down for a few minutes, think, and then write down your own short definition of life. (One paragraph is sufficient.) What are the defining properties of living things, separating living from non-living? Then do some googling (Wikipedia is a good place to start) and see what might be wrong with your definition.


2. Alien life forms

You have probably met aliens in TV series, movies, or science fiction books. Pick one example of an alien species and consider it from a biological and an astronomical perspective. How realistic would you rate the aliens to be? What about their intelligence and other brain processes, evolutionary history and so on? Are they truly alien or just a slightly different version of us or some other Earth species? (And if you have never encountered any science fiction, invent your very own alien species.)


3. Are we alone?

What if we are alone in the whole immense universe, the only intelligent and self-conscious species? What would be the implications for our understanding of ourselves - what it means to be human? And, on the other hand, if the universe is full of life and we are best classified as just "Mostly harmless”, a not very bright or intelligent species - what then?


Viimeksi muutettu: maanantaina 25. joulukuuta 2017, 11.52