<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def to_bool(x):
 """"Converts to a boolean in a semantically meaningful way."""

    if isinstance(x, bool):
        return x
    elif isinstance(x, str):
        return False if x.lower() in _FALSES else True
    else:
        return bool(x)