Digital Darwin

An anonymous reader writes "Using genetic algorithms to breed strings of computer code graphically, this week's Nature magazine describes results from Caltech and Michigan State. Their program is Avida. While they mainly mimic mutation, not genetic cross-over [or inheritance (thus wiping away much memory of initial conditions)], their simulations show how a short-term backward step in survival strategies can generate innovative advances. It is not unlike running a maze which necessarily involves testing alot of dead-ends, and thus shares the graphical look of Conway's classic Game of Life." Here's a National Geographic story about this as well, or see their press release.

Comments

Re:I've used genetic algorithms

[johnsoda2010]

Hmm...
How does starting with
- 'a few thousand lines of c',
- a well-defined 'parameter space',
- 'filtering the bad missteps'

compare with the real world, where we started with absolutely nothing?

In the real world, where did the c code come from? What about the filtering rules?

The reason evolutionists have to keep coming up with new proofs of their theory is that the old ones keep getting disproved! Wait until one has lasted a few decades, and then we'll talk.