Re: [asa] Random Design

> I don't know ... it seems to me that order arising from iterations of random
> events suggests that the boundary conditions have been designed to produce
> order. It would seem to argue for a version of small "id" sort of like S.C.
> Morris' "convergent evolution."
>
> This is beyond me, but I understand there are measures of information
> entropy, related to Shannon entropy, for measuring fractal dimensions (see:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renyi_entropies). If there is a relationship
> between Shannon entropy and information entropy of fractals, that would
> suggest a link to big ID.
>

To some extent, this gets into the moot question of "could it be any
other way?" In chaotic systems, there are often distinct stable
states and highly unpredictable regions. This pattern of order
arising out of a seemingly random context appears to be an intrinsic
feature of the equations. Of course, applying such to evolution or
other real-world features does raise the question of "why does such an
equation apply to evolution?" and might be considered a potential
example of fine-tuning.

-- 
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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