The Mote in God's Eye / Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

		Gabriel Hanna writes: Watchmakers and evolution Beaver's don't ''know'' how to build dams. When they hear running water, they have have an irrestible urge to chop down a tree and throw on their dam. When they stop hearing running water, the urge goes away. The result is a beaver dam. Maybe you know how to solve differential equations, but I know you can't do it fast enough to catch a ball thrown at you. Yet you catch them. Apes can throw and catch things and they don't know anything about ballistics. Watchmakers and Engineers are like that.
		[394] Posted on Tuesday, 02 June 2009 at 5:41 GMT [Reply to this] [Permalink]

		Tal Cohen writes in reply to Gabriel Hanna: Watchmakers and evolution Somehow, I don't see evolution evolving small-brained creatures that can instinctively improve electronic devices.
		[395] Posted on Tuesday, 02 June 2009 at 8:40 GMT [Reply to this] [Permalink]