My comment had nothing to do with the number of dimensions or whether the world is continuous or discrete. (AVIDA and many other biological models are both 2D a

My comment had nothing to do with the number of dimensions or whether the world is continuous or discrete. (AVIDA and many other biological models are both 2D and discrete.) The two core characteristics of life are metabolism and reproduction. Metabolism requires some kind of input, a resource, that is somehow consumed or transformed as the organism grows or is active. Reproduction places an organism in a long line of descent, possibly with mutation and evolution, akin to what we like to call Life. Sure, living organisms show (symmetrical) organisation - but that is because this morphological organisation enables metabolic functions and reproductions. The morphology does not arise because of some random mathematical rules, but because it fulfills a specific need. It is not an end in itself. This teleological perspective is completely lacking in cellular automata such as Lenia. (edited for clarity)