[ExI] Anti-transhumanist crap on Kuro5hin and related.

[Jef Allbright]

On 11/11/07, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

> Gould's notion was the opposite: given the same initial conditions, the two
> planets would evolve *completely different* lifeforms.  The evolutionary
> paths would be unpredictable, with unpredictable outcomes.  In my thinking,
> Roddenberry's notion is only good for explaining why it is that on his show,
> all the aliens look like humans except with the pointy ears or the wrinkly
> forehead.  Gould was right.  Evolution can be better understood with the
> ideas developed by chaos theory.  It is unpredictable.

I have big problems with Gould and his position, but for now I'd like
to point out that while evolutionary outcomes are unpredictable as to
specifics -- being the only processes generating persistent novelty --
they are not random.   Evolution is popularly misconceived as
dependent entirely on random mutation, but actually the synergistic
recombination of building blocks that worked before plays a much more
significant role.

Any initial "random" structure imposes constraints on what can be
supported by it.  Evolution is like a tree whose trunk of increasing
probability supports branches exploring increasing possibility.  But
the new branches cannot be entirely random, for to persist they must
be exhibit consistency.

- Jef