That's a creative angle on the mystery! While mainstream scientific theories focus on purely physical explanations, there have been some speculative ideas that push into more exotic territory.

The behaviors that might suggest something "lifelike" include ball lightning's apparent ability to:

• Navigate around obstacles rather than moving in straight lines
• Seem to "explore" rooms or follow people
• Appear to respond to the environment in seemingly purposeful ways
• Maintain coherent structure over time

A few researchers have proposed that ball lightning might represent some form of plasma-based self-organization that exhibits emergent properties resembling life. This draws on ideas from complexity theory about how simple systems can spontaneously develop complex, seemingly purposeful behaviors.

There's also been speculation about electromagnetic field effects on consciousness - some fringe theories suggest ball lightning might interact with or even temporarily organize electromagnetic fields in ways that could theoretically affect brain activity or perception.

However, these ideas remain highly speculative. The scientific consensus is that the "intelligent" behaviors are more likely explained by:

• Observer bias (people interpreting random movements as purposeful)
• Air currents and electromagnetic fields guiding the phenomenon along predictable but complex paths
• The brain's tendency to attribute agency to unusual moving objects

The plasma physics explanations can account for most of the reported behaviors without requiring consciousness. Still, the fact that we don't fully understand ball lightning leaves room for these more imaginative possibilities to capture people's interest, even if they're not supported by current evidence.

It's one of those phenomena where the mystery itself is almost as fascinating as any potential explanation!