Abstract
To cast some light on the nature of life as we know it, I take a first-principles approach to puzzling out how factors like statistics and the laws of the universe might inevitably lead to the development of life. The seemingly conspicuous differences between life and non-life seem to arise only due to the diversity of ways in which a set of physical and chemical principles manage to express themselves. I will then argue why these factors and the phenomena to which they necessarily give rise can potentially put constraints on the nature of complex, intelligent life. Finally, I will wrap up with a very brief discussion of the implications that the above observations have on how we understand ourselves and the universe around us.