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