I got to my hypothesis of life as an energy moderator by working backwards. Sort of like peeling off the layers of an onion.
I first asked what made humans tick - what was the basis of our behavior and came up with -
1. food in and waste out ( my 4 options) which led to 2. energy in and waste out. Now my scenario was broad enough to cover all living things. And this came from - 3. life defined as energy moderator. Or energy moderation with modification through descent. And this first came from 4. life is the chemical system that survives high heat (and becomes less chemically active or dormant in cold). And that was a reaction to 5. the sun/heat cycle (heat/dry then cool/wet) in the environment.
