[avandonk]

Craig even life on Earth would not follow the same evolutionary path given the exact same starting conditions. Evolution is a random process only constrained by the laws of physics and chemistry.

Of the many life forms with different body morphologies that were produced in the pre Cambrian explosion only a few survive today. All mammals have essentially the same body plan. From whales to mice.

The same rules would apply to exolife and exoevolution.

The brick pulled by a rubber band on an inclined plane of carborundum paper is a very good model for fault behaviour driven by tectonic plate movement. Where the pull is tectonic plate movement. The rubber band is the energy in the rock and the sudden movement of the brick is the earthquake.

There is a new program on SBS on 0830 PM tues 5th of April all about fractals chaos etc and the associated mathematicians and mathematics. Did you see the very early fractal animals on David Attenborough's First Life?
I only heard about this on the Science Show yesterday.

The counter intuitive thing that comes out of chaotic systems and fractals is that self regenerating order can arise from total randomness. LIFE!

The underlying quantum mechanics just gives us a glimpse of the connectedness of all matter and energy at a multidimensional level we cannot perceive directly.

Bert