There are two different concepts at play here. The first is the notion of optimization by randomness and the second is evolution by natural selection. For the

There are two different concepts at play here. The first is the notion of optimization by randomness and the second is evolution by natural selection. For the first issue, there are is a simple way of seeing what I'm talking about; If you are trying to optimize an algorithm for given results, there are three broad techniques which I will categorize for simplicity as 'stupid', 'random', and 'smart.' For instance, if I wanted to sort a deck of cards, I could just shuffle it until I had a sorted deck. That's 'random.' This is not the worst you can do, and only if you do worse can random be an improvement. To do worse, you have to actively prevent the deck from becoming sorted. (For example, by using an algorithm that guarantees a 1-3-2 order at the start.) Randomness is not optimization, and stupidity is optimization away from the goal. Smart is convergence on a goal. However, evolution is not a goal directed process. Those who exist are simply those who lived long enough in the environments they happened find themselves. Randomness doesn't improve any organism or any feature of any organism: it only improves diversity, which allows for more niches to be filled. I mean, maybe this increases the availability of food or the amount of space per organism or something, but it doesn't actually improve organisms. It improves the environment by making it less hostile to life in the abstract. So it has nothing to do with hill climbing or optimization per se.