[extropy-chat] Note on "Random (effects without a cause)" comment

[Damien Broderick]

At 12:27 AM 11/25/2005 -0500, John K Clark wrote:

>>please note that no "random mutation" in
>>evolution is acausal or "an effect without a cause."
>
>Nonsense. An atom of carbon 14 in a molecule DNA decays into nitrogen-14
>through beta decay disrupting the DNA molecule and causing a mutation. This
>effect has no cause and thus can not be predicted [etc]

Okay, granted, but my impression is that under normal circumstances such 
radiologically-induced mutations are far less frequent than other kinds, 
which include damage from chemicals such as reactive ions from metabolic 
processes, frameshifts, deletions and additions, translocations, etc. See, 
e.g., http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucbhjow/bmsi/bmsi_6.html for some numbers.

Rafal?

Damien Broderick