Re: irritable evolution syndrome

From: Kevin Freels (megaquark@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Jun 17 2003 - 08:39:48 MDT

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    lol! Thanks for saying what I was going to say. Now I don't have to type it!
    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Damien Broderick" <damienb@unimelb.edu.au>
    To: <extropians@extropy.org>
    Sent: Monday, June 16, 2003 10:49 PM
    Subject: irritable evolution syndrome

    > Just out of annoyance at the world, I'll throw in this unsolicited
    comment:
    >
    > >If the tape of life on Earth was replayed, humans might not evolve again.
    >
    > I believe this bizarre analogy was coined by S. J. Gould. It always
    enrages
    > me (literal-minded human that I am). If the tape were replayed, how could
    > it *possibly* show anything except what was already there, except maybe
    > grainer? Tapes don't rewrite themselves, not even 1960s' computer tapes.
    > The analogy should surely be: `if the evolutionary "program" of life on
    > earth were re-run using different starting conditions, or with additional
    > factors introduced and other deleted, X might not evolve again.' But I
    > suppose most people don't grok `program' even in this simple sense, and
    > somehow *do* grasp what's meant, even though the analogy makes no sense at
    > all. Weird, the human mind. Why, if the tape were replayed, I bet we'd end
    > up with a mind that--
    >
    > Damien Broderick
    >



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