alan@sun.uucp (Alan Marr, Sun Graphics) (07/21/85)
>>> [Ted Holden] >>> I believe that a world forged entirely by chance >>> mutations and Darwinian laws would be a world of >>> unbelievable shabbiness, i.e. that the law of survival >>> of the fittest would give you acceptable functionality, >>> but never perfection. Such a world would resemble a >>> world created by the Federal Government. Not necessarily so. Consider sailboat design. The designers had to make lots of experiments by trial and error over the thousands of years of sailboat evolution. Racing yachts have achieved considerable perfection in design, from our present point of view and compared to what came before. The naval architects were guided by more than just random mutation, but the important thing to think of is that they were affected by a process of selection that is exactly analogous to survival of the fittest. Come on engineers and scientists! We all know about the power of elegance in mathematical proofs, the principle of least moving parts, and Occam's razor. Engineering, natural or by design, constantly creates beauty, not always, but enough times to be appreciated.