What A Darwinian Algorithm Designs

[Dan_Eastwood]

@EricMH

So, evolution cannot generate any mutual information that is not already implicit in the beginning.

I was not attempting to explain abiogenesis (but I will ponder it). Do you agree that evolution can increase MI (in your terms) once some critical threshold of MI exists?

More to ask, but not tonight. Thanks for your time.

[Dan_Eastwood]

@EricMH

So, evolution cannot generate any mutual information that is not already implicit in the beginning. Perhaps everyone agrees with this point, but then we have an infinite regression of trying to explain where the initial mutual information came from. This initial source cannot itself be chance + determinism, thus must be something like a halting oracle, which per our current understanding of physics must be a non-physical entity. Evolution supposedly solves this problem, but all it dose according to AIT is just push the problem up a level.

I have pondered; I actually woke up at 4 AM thinking about this. It appears you are making a First Cause argument - I never found FC to be very satisfying, but it is not your job to satisfy me. I will suggest that you cannot make a scientific argument by claiming evolution/abiogenesis kicks the problem down the road. As the Design theorist you need to set the goalpost to confirm design and stick with it. This is why I asked:

Do you agree that evolution can increase MI (in your terms) once some critical threshold of MI exists?

I think that defining function more clearly will help you - and to be completely honest I think this will make it harder for you at first, but your task will be better defined. At a minimum function must include replication in order for selection to act (and for mutual information to have meaning). Do you agree?

I still think you are equivocating mutual (unconditional) and relative information (conditional on F), but I’d like your thoughts on this before saying more.

[EricMH (Eric Michael Holloway)]

@Dan_Eastwood

Do you agree that evolution can increase MI (in your terms) once some critical threshold of MI exists?

No. Law of information non-growth means this is impossible.

[Dan_Eastwood]

And replication as minimal function?? (See above).