quote:
Originally posted by blitz77:
Hmmm? That circuit did not actually produce what was required-quote:
In essence, the evolving circuit had cheated, relaying oscillations generated elsewhere, rather than generating its own.
I'm sure you can call this nitpicking, but using 10 transistors and switches to make an oscillator is not that hard.
Well - nitpicking and cheating, true - but I read the story as indicating a principle, for which simplicity is a benefit. OK, you can make a multivibrator with two transistors, but my first point was that something 'new' had emerged. Creationists argue strongly that micro-evolution - 'improving' a species - is possible, but that a new 'vital' organ cannot be generated, so a 'new' animal cannot be evolved. Here we have a radio receiver where before we had a signal generator.
My second point was not that the design was hard, but that it was done without directed design, by evolution, rather than by intention. This is surely also of relevance to the evolution/creation debate. Evolutionary pressures just made use of the induced AM oscillations you mentioned would be in the environment.