Hyperlife

Definition

Hyperlife is a term coined by Kevin Kelly in Chapter 17 of his book Out of Control. He explains that "Hyperlife is a particular type of vivisystem endowed with integrity, robustness, and cohesiveness -- a strong vivisystem rather than a lax one. A rain forest and a periwinkle, an electronic network and a servomechanism, SimCity and New York City, all possess degrees of hyperlife. Hyperlife is my word for that class of life that includes both the AIDS virus and the Michelangelo computer virus".

Species of Hyperlife

"Biological life is only one species of hyperlife. A telephone network is another species. A bullfrog is chock-full of hyperlife. The Biosphere 2 project in Arizona swarms with hyperlife, as do Tierra, and Terminator 2. Someday hyperlife will blossom in automobiles, buildings, TVs, and test tubes".