I observe that there are some simple factual errors in:

''The Information Challenge''

http://www.world-of-dawkins.com/Dawkins/Work/Articles/1998-12-04infochallange.s$

The above will likely trigger the s.b.e long URL bug - so:

http://tinyurl.com/4eqbh

This bit:

``Mutation is not an increase in true information content, rather the
  reverse, for mutation, in the Shannon analogy, contributes to increasing
  the prior uncertainty.''

....is not correct.  Mutation typically *increases* the information in the 
genome, by increasing its suprise value.

Similarly this bit:

``natural selection is by definition a process whereby information is fed
  into the gene pool of the next generation.''

....is also not correct - natural selection usually /eliminates/ variation,
and thus /destroys/ information.

``But now we come to natural selection, which reduces the "prior 
  uncertainty" and therefore, in Shannon's sense, contributes
  information to the gene pool.''

....and...

``natural selection feeds information into gene pools''

....are also not correct - for the same reason: natural
selection usually eliminates information from gene pools -
by destroying individuals that carry it.

This area is critical point in the essay.  Dawkins apparently gives
completely the wrong answer to the question his essay is addressing.

Dawkins stated position appears to be not remotely defensible -
it is completely mistaken - he totally reverses the roles of
mutation and natural selection, as far as their effect on
information content of genomes is concerned.

It appears that St Richard is fallible after all ;-)
-- 
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