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<blockquote
cite="mid:mailman.57.1540591979.17370.extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org"
type="cite"><br>
<blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex" class="gmail_quote"><span
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i><span
class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">> t</span>hey
are the product of natural (i.e. random) processes</i></span></blockquote>
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<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="4">A
key part of Evolution is natural selection and that is not
random.</font></div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span
style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br>
</span></div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="4">John
K Clark</font></div>
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Yes, that was poorly phrased. I meant that randomness is involved,
not that all natural processes are random. Evolution (and biology in
general) makes an excellent job of harnessing random events in a
directed way. It is very inefficient and wasteful, though (a
necessary part of the process, so far) and I do think we will be
able improve on it hugely. If we don't wipe ourselves out first,
we'll merge biology and technology together until they eventually
become indistinguishable. I find this idea hugely inspiring. It
baffles me that so many people bang on about how marvellously
perfect evolved systems are, when it seems so obvious that they're
nothing of the kind.<br>
<br>
If anyone is tempted to think that biology is some kind of pinnacle
of perfection and efficiency, I point out how it's full of laughable
kludges that are locked-in by the evolutionary process. From Okazaki
fragments to the recurrent laryngeal nerve, evolution produces
blundering solutions that are only just good enough to survive, and
I think we will be able to do a <b>lot</b> better at some point in
the future. <br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Ben Zaiboc</pre>
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