>P.S. to Pim van Meurs. Write to Stephen Gould, and ask him for
>the observational evidence that the panda's thumb is suboptimal.
>
>Not his opinion. The evidence.
Optimization is a process of achieving a maximal or minimal value of a
performance index subject to a constraint set. I would ask Dr. Gould to
specify the performance index and the constraint set, and _then_ provide
the observational evidence.
Tough? Oh well. We engineers are like that...
I will reiterate that reading Paul's paper led me to specualte that if
optimal design is a metaphor for what God did in designing forelimbs, that
his intent may have been do design a very adaptable mechanism. The number
of instances in which is it used seems to indicate that he was successful.
Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems | General Motors R&D Center | Warren, MI
William_E._Hamilton@notes.gmr.com
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX) | whamilto@mich.com (home email)