On Wed, 08 Nov 1995 20:44:10 -0500 (EST) you wrote:
SJ>No one has shown that "unguided evolutionary processes" are
>"probable". Indeed, the very opposite. The famous 1966 symposium at
>the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in the University of
>Pennsylvania entitled 'Mathematical Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian
>Interpretation of Evolution', examined this question....Marcel P.
>Schutzenberger, a computer scientist from the University of Paris,
>agreed that "spontaneous improvement and enlargement of the code
through mutations and natural selection was 'not conceivable'" and
>that "if we try to simulate such a situation by making changes
>randomly at the typographic level (by letter or by blocks, the size
>of the unit does not really matter) on computer programmes, we find
>that we have no chance (that is, less than one chance in 10^10,000)
>even to see what the modified programme would compute: it just
>jams." (Hitching F., "The Neck of the Giraffe", Ticknor & Fields:
>New York, 1982, pp82-83)
LH>Ahem.
>I seem to recall, several months ago, quite a few voices on this
>group claiming that computer simulations of macroevolution (e.g.
>increasing complexity via stochastic processes; infrequent, rapid
>morphological change from "point mutations") were essentially
>irrelevant as to whether or not biological macroevolution was true.
>Sauce for the goose.... :-)
That's fine. Either way, Neo-Darwinist "spontaneous improvement and
enlargement of the code through mutations and natural selection" is
not able to be simulated realistically on a computer. :-)
Dawkins indirectly confirmed that by his "Methinks it is like a
weasel" and Biomorphs computer models in TBW, both of which supported
artifical selection, rather than natural selection.
God bless.
Stephen
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