friction

so just now i was watching "what would happen if.." on the national geographic channel and there was this segment called "brain in a box" or something where these three smart dudes were discussing for 10 minutes about the importance of FRICTION. so fast-forward here, fast-forward there, my eyes glazing over and there i am zoning out when, after talking about cars and motion and particles moving, they finally reach a conclusion:

NO FRICTION = NO LIFE

wow, seriously, what a thing to say! according to the build-up of their conclusion, friction is the force which holds everything together, right down to the level of particles (hmmmmm). and how they ended up with "no friction = no life" will need alot more thinking , remembering (of my physics notes in days of yore) and research on my part to let that sink in. it's like comparing friction to oxygen, as though it were some sort of life force. or is it?

it got me thinking really. ideally, we'd all want smooth-sailing lives without inertia, without worry, without forces opposing our direct line of motion, the fulfilment of our dreams, etc. then, we have this bunch of guys coming in and saying that without friction, there can be no life and that friction is the force which holds everything together. so to even have a life which is ideal, there needs to be friction to even have life in the first place. BUT without friction, there can be no life, so there is no such thing as a life without friction in the physical universe because life cannot exist without friction??? something about "no friction = no life" somehow really fascinates me and i can't stop thinking about it.

i'm sorry to disappoint you but this post has no deep conclusion on my part. yet.