Related news: Interstellar 'slowball' could have carried seeds of life
	What the article doesn't say is how long it would take such a "life rock" to travel interstellar distances, or, why it is more likely that the star formation cluster would have such compounds in it as compared to another star system. I think it was Douglas Adams who said "Space is big. Really big."... more » By MangoCats  - Sep 4 2008 - 1 new of 1 message

	Can we discuss the question?
	I need to understand the qualifying and the quantifying parameters of the question. Can someone explain it further? By i borisen  - Aug 20 2008 - 5 new of 5 messages

	A Resolution, if not the desired one
	I believe this issue has a trivial resolution. First, as a previous poster has said, the Earth most likely is a QS, and even if it is not, there is SOME QS out there. The universe (barring some fringe science being true) is a QS, and since life has emerged in it, clearly complex life can emerge in a QS.... more » By Tristan  - Jul 28 2008 - 1 new of 1 message

	panspermia and intellectual property
	I'm interested in this discussion, as I am about to complete some work that might be eligible. But I have a couple of questions. 1. I'm not sure how the *transfer of intellectual property* would work in this case. I have a logical argument, which includes a number of mathematical proofs. What would selling it mean? Would I still be... more » By old.johns  - Jul 24 2008 - 4 new of 4 messages

	You want me to sell my life's work and teach you to use it for 20,000 US Dollars?
	Your proposition troubles me for some number of reasons. First, your writings on the subject do not reveal a grasp of the deep issues (landscape) of this big challenge, so how could you recognize the profitable solution even if it fell into your own hands? For example, you write about a computer simulation and a wet physical... more » By vladicz  - Jul 24 2008 - 1 new of 1 message

	comments
	1) The outcome of this challenge has no effect on the panspermia debate: the universe is a quarantined system. If complexity can't increase in a quarantined system, then we, apparently, do not exist. 2) Brig, your statement, "The model does what it is programmed to do, and that's all." sounds a bit like the ai paradox: as soon as a... more » By Rick Fleischer  - Jul 23 2008 - 1 new of 1 message

	MSU Devolab
	In searching for information about how this challenge might be approached in a practical manner, I found a group which seems to have already qualified for the prize. Their web site is [link] They are associated with Lenski and descend from the Caltech Digital Life Lab. There is a great deal of information on this site and its... more » By Bud  - Jun 25 2008 - 15 new of 15 messages

question from a solver

[from anonymous, 23 June 2008] I've been thinking about open-ended results in a closed system, from a slightly different direction. The innocentive challenge fits well with this. Here is a question: can the innovation be specified, given a certain number of constraints? I see two different innovation possibilities: environmental and... more » By bkl...@gmail.com  - Jun 24 2008 - 1 new of 1 message

	Problem Definition, Discussion, and Question
	In trying to set up a definition of this problem and also define the criteria for a solution, I have run into some issues. First, from the discussion earlier about Lenski's results, it seems clear that no biological system can provide an acceptable proof. This is unfortunate because most of the terms used in stating the problem... more » By Bud  - Jun 23 2008 - 4 new of 4 messages

computer models

i am confused about what type of computer model would be acceptable. what would be the starting point for a model? let's say, for example, you wanted to allow some sort of computational evolution subject to some selective fitness pressure: you would need to start from some model of a cellular system, which by assumption might be contrived to... more » By Noah Helman  - Jun 21 2008 - 11 new of 11 messages