Genome complexity: most important article ever! (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, May 09, 2015, 21:44 (3485 days ago) @ dhw


> dhw: Perhaps you could explain what they mean by a random walk along a web of neutral mutations.-This comes from the field of mathematical approaches to finding innovation through mutation. A random walk is literally just that, wandering around through a lovely landscape, not knowing exactly what you are looking for or what to find and how to use it. There are formulas based on how many proteins there are of certain types, and figuring odds. What the writer is saying is that there are patterns of protein forms that make the search easier, according to computer research. Note it comes back to patterns in planning from the beginning. To me pre-planning. 
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> dhw: To make the process clearer, I would say it is not some strange force called nature that innovates, but individual organisms themselves that combine (combinatorial landscapes). And evolution does not take a random walk, but individual organisms themselves respond inventively as well as adaptively to random changes in the environment.-I see here you are making your own interpretation and disagreeing with the author. You have that right. I do it all the time. You are accepting epigenetics, which I think was pre-planned to help organisms do exactly what you describe.-> dhw: Nor do circumstances necessarily compel innovation, as bacteria have remained bacteria since it all began: innovations are not motivated solely by the need to survive, but also by the desire to improve.-Be careful, 'desire to improve' smells of teleology. How do bacteria even conceive of improving themselves? -> dhw: And finally, to go back to autonomy, we should never forget that in 99% of cases, the inventive/adaptive mechanism fails. Once again, if your God designed it in the first place, he either preprogrammed the failure, intervened to engineer it, or left organisms to fend for themselves (= autonomy).-But yet there are humans living all around you, despite your complaint. You should be grateful worked so well to give you your experience of life.
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> Thank you for this article. Definitely very important!-Thank you. It is very important. We have no idea how innovation works. Darwin didn't know and his guess is obviously wrong.