[B][QUOTE]At its simplest, a mutation changes the expression of an amino acid or of several amino acids in a protein. This changes the function of the protein in some way. That protein either provides a better or a worse interaction with the environment. It really is that simple in its conception, and that powerful in its full application.[/B][/QUOTE]
Actually, it is even simpler and more powerful. The protein does not provide a better or worse interaction, merely a different interaction. It is the qualitative directionlessness of the mutation that gives the system its remarkable suppleness: the "quality" of the mutation, and any inference of intentionality in the mutating process is nothing more than a post factum ascription of value-based terms as a shorthand for the selective process.