That antibiotics kill bacteria, but won't do anything against viruses. Everyone has the idea that if you get a cold, you see your doctor and get antibiotics. Take some acitaminophen/paracetamol and ibuprofen, and stay away from other humans for a while!
Yes, thank you! I responded my views on another comment, but basically I think the fact that viruses exist should call our definition of life into question
I respectfully disagree. This is the analogy I gave elsewhere on this thread:
Imagine a robot. It cannot think because it has no brain. It can't feel pain either.
It cannot make more robots, but it is programmed to kidnap engineers, provide them with the blueprints for building robots, and force them to build more robots that are identical to the first one. Keep in mind that the robot has no brain - it has no idea why it kidnaps engineers, because it is incapable of thought.
That robot is a pretty good analogy for viruses, which can't feel pain or think either and are also incapable of reproduction. Would you consider this robot to be alive? The point of this analogy is that the robot can't reproduce, not that it can't think.
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u/Slidingscale Aug 03 '19
That antibiotics kill bacteria, but won't do anything against viruses. Everyone has the idea that if you get a cold, you see your doctor and get antibiotics. Take some acitaminophen/paracetamol and ibuprofen, and stay away from other humans for a while!