"r norman"  wrote in message
>
> Another way to look at it is as a random walk process.  Evolution
> tends to spread out organisms in all directions.  However, it started
> with simple things and there is a lower bound to how simple an
> organism can be and still be alive.  So there is necessarily an
> increase in average complexity with time. Still, most things remain
> simple.
>
This was Sephen Gould's argument. The problem is that a "random walk" could
only produce something that looked random - big agglomerations of cells
maybe, but to exquisitely structured into a co-operative organism.
It is true that some simple solutions to the problems of living still work.
However for a substantial subset of organisms the more complex form offers
an advantage. For instance, jawed mouths are more complex than jawless
mouths and look longer to evolve. However the jawed fishes have radiated to
fill a huge variety of niches, and even spread to the land, whilst the
jawless solution is only viable in a few specialised niches, such as the
parasitic hagfish and lampreys.
---
þ RIMEGate(tm)/RGXPost V1.14 at BBSWORLD * Info{at}bbsworld.com

---
 * RIMEGate(tm)V10.2áÿ* RelayNet(tm) NNTP Gateway * MoonDog BBS
 * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 4/16/04 6:36:43 AM