[extropy-chat] Darwinian dynamics unlikely to apply tosuperintelligence

[John K Clark]

  > Evolution isn't something you can avoid.

True.

> Deep down, all it says is "you find more
> of that which survives and spreads itself"

No, that's only half of what makes evolution work, for the other half you
need some mechanism to make the next generation different from the present
one. In Darwinian biological evolution that mechanism is random mutation; in
cultural evolution (science is just one example) it is Lamarckian and the
inheritance of acquired characteristics is possible.  Lamarckian evolution
is about a billion times faster than the Darwinian version because it is
directed by intelligence. Once life enters this phase things will move in a
direction more likely to make intelligence happy because the old style
Darwinian component will be swamped out by the much larger Lamarckian.

  John K Clark    jonkc at att.net