[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.22,0:00:03.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Life is fundamentally different\Nfrom dead stuff—or is it?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.09,0:00:07.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Physicist Erwin Schrödinger\Ndefined life this way:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.57,0:00:12.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Living things avoid decay into\Ndisorder and equilibrium.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.07,0:00:14.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What does this mean?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.51,0:00:17.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let’s pretend that your download\Nfolder is the universe.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.36,0:00:21.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It started orderly and got more\Nand more chaotic over time.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.68,0:00:25.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By investing energy, you can create\Norder and clean it up.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.93,0:00:27.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is what living things do.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.92,0:00:29.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what {\i1}is{\i0} life?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.56,0:00:39.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every living thing on this\Nplanet is made of cells.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.62,0:00:45.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Basically, a cell is a protein-based robot\Ntoo small to feel or experience anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.49,0:00:48.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has the properties we just\Nassign to life:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.15,0:00:51.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it has a wall that separates it from the\Nsurroundings, creating order;
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.67,0:00:55.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it regulates itself and maintains\Na constant state;
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.93,0:00:58.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it eats stuff to stay alive;
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.28,0:01:00.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it grows and develops;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.13,0:01:01.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it reacts to the environment;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.88,0:01:04.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it’s subject to evolution;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.39,0:01:06.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it makes more of itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.74,0:01:10.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But of all the stuff that makes up\Na cell, no part is alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.96,0:01:15.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Stuff reacts chemically with other stuff,\Nforming reactions
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.09,0:01:17.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that start other reactions which\Nstart other reactions.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.45,0:01:23.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a single cell, every second several\Nmillion chemical reactions take place,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.21,0:01:25.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forming a complex orchestra.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.58,0:01:28.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A cell can build several thousand\Ntypes of protein:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.40,0:01:31.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some very simple, some complex\Nmicromachines.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.56,0:01:37.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine driving a car at 100 km/h while\Nconstantly rebuilding every single
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.62,0:01:40.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of it with stuff you collect\Nfrom the street.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.68,0:01:42.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is what cells do.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.05,0:01:46.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no part of the cell is alive;\Neverything is dead matter
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.75,0:01:48.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,moved by the laws of the universe.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.54,0:01:54.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So is life the aggregate of all these\Nreaction processes that are taking place?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.19,0:01:57.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eventually, every living thing will die.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.34,0:02:02.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The goal of the whole process is to\Nprevent this by producing new entities;
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.19,0:02:05.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by this, we mean DNA.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.05,0:02:10.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Life is, in a way, just a lot of stuff\Nthat carries genetic information around.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.78,0:02:12.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every living thing is subject to\Nevolution,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.83,0:02:17.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the DNA that develops the best living\Nthing around it will stay in the game.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.07,0:02:20.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, is DNA life, then?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.86,0:02:25.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you take DNA out of its hull,\Nit certainly is a very complex molecule,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.55,0:02:27.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it can’t do anything by itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.24,0:02:31.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is where viruses make everything\Nmore complicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.10,0:02:36.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are basically strings of RNA\Nor DNA in a small hull
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.26,0:02:38.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and need cells to do something.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.57,0:02:41.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We’re not sure if they count as\Nliving or dead.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.30,0:02:47.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And still, there are 225,000,000 m³\Nof viruses on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.12,0:02:49.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They don’t seem to care what\Nwe think of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.38,0:02:53.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are even viruses that invade\Ndead cells and reanimate them
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.72,0:02:57.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they can be a host for them, which\Nblurs the line even more.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.31,0:02:59.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or mitochondria.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.95,0:03:03.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are the power plants of\Nmost complex cells and
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.22,0:03:08.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were previously free living bacteria that\Nentered a partnership with bigger cells.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.51,0:03:12.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They still have their own DNA and can\Nmultiply on their own, but
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.64,0:03:16.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they are not alive anymore; they are dead.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.86,0:03:20.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they traded their own life for the\Nsurvival of their DNA,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.48,0:03:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which means living things can evolve into\Ndead things as long as it’s beneficial
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.68,0:03:27.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to their genetic code.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.44,0:03:33.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, maybe life is information that manages\Nto ensure its continued existence.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.68,0:03:37.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what about AI\N(artificial intelligence)?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.63,0:03:42.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By our most common definitions, we are\Nvery close to creating artificial life
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.44,0:03:43.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in computers.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.61,0:03:47.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s just a question of time before the\Ntechnology we build gets there.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.71,0:03:49.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is not science fiction, either;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.64,0:03:53.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are a lot of smart people\Nactively working on this.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.07,0:03:56.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You could already argue that computer\Nviruses are alive.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.09,0:03:59.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hm, okay. So what is life, then?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.17,0:04:04.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Things, processes, DNA, information?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.99,0:04:07.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This got confusing very fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.08,0:04:09.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One thing is for sure:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.54,0:04:13.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the idea that life is fundamentally\Ndifferent from non-living things
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.30,0:04:15.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they contain some\Nnon-physical element
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.95,0:04:19.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or are governed by different principles\Nthan inanimate objects
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.52,0:04:21.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turned out to be wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.65,0:04:26.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before Charles Darwin, humans drew a line\Nbetween themselves and the rest
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.11,0:04:30.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of living things; there was something\Nmagical about us that made us special.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.40,0:04:35.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once we had to accept we are like every\Nliving being, a product of evolution,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.94,0:04:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we drew a different line.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.10,0:04:41.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the more we learn about what\Ncomputers can do and how life works,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.64,0:04:46.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the closer we get to creating the first\Nmachine that fits our desciption of life,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.06,0:04:49.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more our image of ourselves\Nis in danger again.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.88,0:04:51.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this will happen sooner or later.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.35,0:04:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here’s another question for you:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.83,0:04:57.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if everything in the universe is made\Nof the same stuff,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.80,0:05:00.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,does this mean everything\Nin the universe is dead
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.57,0:05:03.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that everything in the universe\Nis alive?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.88,0:05:06.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That it’s just a question of complexity?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.57,0:05:08.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Does this mean we can never die
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.46,0:05:10.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we were never alive\Nin the first place?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.14,0:05:14.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is life and death an irrelevant question\Nand we haven’t noticed it yet?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.40,0:05:19.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is it possible we are much more part of\Nthe universe around us than we thought?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.49,0:05:22.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Don’t look at us; we don’t have any\Nanswers for you.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.98,0:05:25.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just questions for you to think about.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.53,0:05:29.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After all, it’s thinking about questions\Nlike this that makes us feel alive
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.73,0:05:31.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gives us some comfort.