life                
                                    
                                    
                                          
     a multitude of definitions     
       does   not    help.   we       
      can     say     "life     is      
       what    we   are,   and        
       what  things  like  us       
       are",   but   then   we        
     must    also    define    what     
     "things  like  us"  actually     
     entails,  how  it should       
       be  measured,   who   or       
      what    is    the    arbiter,     
      and   so   instead   there      
          is   this    internationally 
 sanctioned      list                  
          of  criteria          
                                          
 - life must produce or consume milk      
 - life must have a beginning and an end  
 - life can have dreams and can interact  
 - life can steal                         
 - life can be cursed