The Dodo Problem (Evolution)

by dhw, Friday, November 26, 2010, 12:35 (5110 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: This is precisely why I find your scenario so unconvincing. Reason and experience tell me that anything planned from the start should not branch off in all directions, and should not rely on luck. (I repeat, if extinction is a matter of bad luck, then survival is a matter of good luck.) Any Texan cowboy will tell you that a scattergun is not the weapon best guaranteed to hit the target.-DAVID: A shotgun hits the dove easier than a rifle. All cowboys know that.-Why are you Texan cowboys shooting innocent doves?
 
Here is the definition I was going by: "A scattergun, or more commonly referred to as a shotgun, fires many pellets into the air hoping that one or two might hit the target. Most however miss and fall harmlessly to the ground." This seems to sum up your view of a UI's evolutionary mechanism.-dhw: If you can explain why dodos were a necessary part of God's plan to create humans, I might be able to understand why a specific, perfectly planned project takes precedence over 1) an improvised experiment with no ultimate goal, or 2) a targeted experiment without prior knowledge of how to achieve the goal. -DAVID: Don't buy your description of evolution at all. God planned DNA to eventually guide evolution to humans. It is not improvised and it is targeted. Tony describes well the things created along the way to help support the eventual human arrival.-Then what was the point of the dodo?