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Do we know that nature is smart? Evolution is achieved by trying out whatever random ideas can be expressed by a gene flip and seeing which one creates more sex

• nyc111 9y ago
  We know that nature is not smart. We are not talking about nature but specific living organisms in nature. All types of life forms make intelligent decisions. Humans are trying to design and produce machines that can make such intelligent decisions on their own. The problem is to write algorithms that evaluate data it receives from the sensors and make the correct decision. The intelligent part is in writing such algorithms that know what to do in unexpected situations and can make the right decisions under new situtions and learn from new situations. So two main signifiers of intelligence are 1. making decisions on its own and 2. learning from new situations. Evolution is an academic buzzword that has so many meanings that it has become meaningless. I avoid using that word. Introducing the word "evolution" to any discussion only leads to discussions about the meaning of the word evolution. Can we investigate my original question without using the word evolution? Yes we can. You say that "nature doesn't do much better than evolution". We now know that the fundamental process nature uses to create new types of organisms is siymbiosis. Different organisms agree to live together and form a new organism.