Re: Life without evolution/evolution without life?

[Judith Rosen <***>]

Howard, I was intrigued by your mention of computers as being able to
satisfy the minimum conditions you see being necessary for a Darwinian
process to happen. Without speaking to the Darwinian process idea directly,
because that's outside my area, I wish you had been on the list when we had
the Chimera discussion. According to the collection of Rosennean theoretical
ideas, a computer is a component of a chimerical system created by adding a
created technological construction on to another system. Since computers are
created by human minds, and are only active when interacting with humans or
put into motion by humans, they are an extension of the human organism
itself. That makes sense to me, but it begs the question; What is the
internet an extension of? Of individuals, of consciousness (collective or
otherwise), of societies? Maybe all of the above at the same time.

Judith
PS: A colleague just sent me a joke that is too funny not to share: "If a
pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?"

Perfect way to end the day...

Howard wrote:
> I think the minimum conditions for a Darwinian process require 1) units
with heritable memory, 2) noise (mutation), 3) a population of memory
controlled (or memory influenced) units, 4) ecological test of units
(competition, selection).
>
> The only example I can think of that is not living is a computer
programmed with the above conditions, but there may be others. Many such
badly-named "genetic algorithm" programs exist.
>
> Howard,
>
> > Howard,
> >
> > Do you see any way to coordinate Darwinian processes
> > with non-living events and systems?
> >
> > James
> > 03/20/04
> >
> >
> > Howard Pattee wrote:
> >
> > > Life did not suddenly "exist" but arose gradually from non-living
> > > organizations of matter. There were several billion years of
> > > pre-Darwinian types of evolution that is the subject of much study
today.
> > >
> >