Name: Anonymous 2007-02-14 22:27
The reason life cannot currently simply be created, even though we understand enough of it to be able to do so theoretically, is because the chemical molecules are so huge and interconnected (complex, but mainly due to sheer size, yet we can still grasp them intellectually) that it is nearly impossible to create such compounds in sufficient amounts to "create" life, and the fact that "programming" life, e.g. creating or copying genetic code, is such a hit or miss process, that most things would simply fail to achieve "life" or die soon after (as is the majority of such events in nature as well, life doesnt function well by itself)
To better illustrate the point, think of life as a self replicating and self sustaining computer program, with the source code as DNA, but then think of the source code as something which can be changed and affected by just about anything coming into contact with it, and that furthermore it is constantly replicating and copying itself billions of times a day, often without regard to copying errors or changes in the code, and that in order to reproduce to create another version of itself, it must either divide and recopy, or combine its source code with the source code of another program to create a whole new set of source code, often without regard to how well such source code is written, designed, and checked for errors.
To better illustrate the point, think of life as a self replicating and self sustaining computer program, with the source code as DNA, but then think of the source code as something which can be changed and affected by just about anything coming into contact with it, and that furthermore it is constantly replicating and copying itself billions of times a day, often without regard to copying errors or changes in the code, and that in order to reproduce to create another version of itself, it must either divide and recopy, or combine its source code with the source code of another program to create a whole new set of source code, often without regard to how well such source code is written, designed, and checked for errors.