dhw: "The idea that animals and plants are machines is really Dogma Number One." > Good to see him joining Margulis, McClintock, Shapiro and the rest. He also dislikes the current use of the term "information", which I have moaned about so often: > > "To talk of these forms as "patterns of information" adds nothing, but causes a fog of confusion and ambiguity." > Ah, ain't it the truth!-The organisms are not patterns of information. they use information coded into DNA, which, if you've noticed, is an amazingly versatile code!