Video

Video interlude: Evolution and clocks

I suppose this might appear to be in questionable taste, given how close we are to Christmas, but I came across a fascinating YouTube video (via Metafilter) which shows the results of a program designed to reproduce the elements of evolution — using rudimentary clocks and clock-related mechanisms as the building blocks of life.

The person who wrote the program intended it as a refutation of the argument that evolution must be wrong because complicated mechanisms such as clocks (and eyeballs) don’t just emerge by themselves. I don’t know whether it solves that debate or not, I just thought it was a cool video — given a supply of hands, gears, springs and other elements that are endowed with affinities similar to biological entities, and an evolution-like system, it seems that clocks eventually emerge.

Post it | Related links |


Discussion

Comments for “Video interlude: Evolution and clocks”

Viewing 1 Comment

Trackbacks

blog comments powered by Disqus

about me

I'm a technology writer with The Globe and Mail in Toronto, and this is where I blog about things I come across on the Web. Feel free to leave a comment or use the contact form to send me an email.

subscribe

grazr

Grazr

TwitterCount

TwitterCounter for @mathewi

busted tees

categories

archives

adify

lijit