>We understand the second law of thermodynamics in a probabilistic sense.
>Therefore, if a set of outcomes are equally likely, then the most probable
>configuration is the one that randomness will drive the system to. Is that
>the case with your example? Or are there constraints that would exclude some
>of the possible outcomes? What laws determine such constraints?
As I mentioned some sequences kill the animal. But within large limits each
protein (and thus the DNA behind it) are free to wander through a large
number of viable possibilities. There are something like 10^94 different
permutations of the cytochrome c molecule that will function just fine and
dandy in your body. (see Hubert Yockey, Information Theory and Molecular
Biology, p. 59). There are a total of 10^137 possible permutations of a
sequence that long. So, yes there are limits, but they aren't very limiting.
glenn
Foundation, Fall and Flood
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm