"Tom Adams"  wrote in message
news:cmtdud$1fmr$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org...
> Is there a mathematical or statistical theory of evolution that allow
> the calculation or estimation of the amount of trial and error it
> takes to produce a particular organism.

Others have made good points already, so I only reply reiteratively, 
and because I can. :-)

Sure as anything there are and can be no sensible or meaningful such calculation.

For starters, what can possibly be meant by "amount of trial and
error"!!!(?)

But nevertheless what is sure is that "the number" (of whatever
would approximately be counted 
as trials and errors  - if it could be counted) 
is smaller than all [barely/hardly imaginable] interactions within this Universe. 

Especially so if what is (as I shall now suggest in a fairy-tale like
fashion) unrealistically counted as 
"interactions within this Universe" is (if it realistically could
be;) the Plank-sized 
permutation-producing/configuration-altering steps 
of ditto-sized 'chunks of energyspace' 
within the particular 'soap-bubble' 
of "What Is going on" 
that is what we call this "this Universe". 

Another couple of "relatively minor" problems with your deeply
problematic question 
is to decide at what transitory stage of branching (speciating) and
periodically plateauxing 
(speciating at an unreliable rate) in phylogeny, should we count up to, or
down from.; 
and, from where we should begin to 'count up'.  ;-)

P
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