Sorry- in the realm of physics, rather than the realm of biology.
Yes, what is the difference in that realm?
Supernovae are physics, enzymes are biology, catalysts are chemistry. The disciplines are arbitrary and without good lines between them, but they effect the terms of the discussion about them. Complex crystals with unusual physical properties are likely to be studied destructively to determine the nature of those physical properties. Anything with a high chemical energy density might be used as fuel.
In short, there is no way to tell the difference between alien minerals and alien life. Further, I don't expect alien civilization to easily determine that the...
Today's post, Humans in Funny Suits was originally published on 30 July 2008. A summary (taken from the LW wiki):
Discuss the post here (rather than in the comments to the original post).
This post is part of the Rerunning the Sequences series, where we'll be going through Eliezer Yudkowsky's old posts in order so that people who are interested can (re-)read and discuss them. The previous post was Interpersonal Morality, and you can use the sequence_reruns tag or rss feed to follow the rest of the series.
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