Ha Ha
I knew I'd read about it before … 'twas in The Blind Watchmaker by Dawkins!
The Wiki article says:
Quote:
|
Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins employs the typing monkey concept in his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker to demonstrate the ability of natural selection to produce biological complexity out of random mutations. In a simulation experiment Dawkins has his weasel program produce the Hamlet phrase METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL, starting from a randomly typed parent, by "breeding" subsequent generations and always choosing the closest match from progeny that are copies of the parent, with random mutations. The random choices furnish raw material, while cumulative selection imparts information.
|
Just like I said previously, this program involves hard-coded logic to make Dawkins' point.
There are lots of 'ins and outs' behind this truism, it seems. Everyone wants to interpret it to prove something … for and against. The trap seems to be in attempting to use it as 'proof'.
These words still apply: "Statistics do not reveal truths. Even a probable outcome is not a dead certainty". Nor is an improbable outcome, a dead certainty.
It would seem that one cannot use the typing monkeys analogy, to state anything with absolute certainty .. for or against.
Until we find a highly intelligent monkey !
(Perhaps that was Shakespeare
)
Cheers