Hyperlife

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Definition

Hyperlife is a term coined by Kevin Kelly in Chapter 17 of his book Out of Control. He explains that "Hyperlife is a particular type of vivisystem endowed with integrity, robustness, and cohesiveness -- a strong vivisystem rather than a lax one. A rain forest and a periwinkle, an electronic network and a servomechanism, SimCity and New York City, all possess degrees of hyperlife. Hyperlife is my word for that class of life that includes both the AIDS virus and the Michelangelo computer virus".[1]

Species of Hyperlife

"Biological life is only one species of hyperlife. A telephone network is another species. A bullfrog is chock-full of hyperlife. The Biosphere 2 project in Arizona swarms with hyperlife, as do Tierra, and Terminator 2. Someday hyperlife will blossom in automobiles, buildings, TVs, and test tubes".[2]

References

  1. Out of Control by Kevin Kelly Basic Books: 1995.
  2. Ibid.