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