Tim Tyler: Universal selection

Most people are familiar with the idea of natural selection. Some things survive better than others - and the world which observers witness is populated by the things that are good at surviving. The idea is sometimes known as "survival of the fittest".

However, many people associate this idea with life and living systems. What is less-commonly understood is that the principle of natural selection is a broad and deep one, which also applies to non-living things.
Natural selection affects everything that comes into existence. Whether or not it comes into existence via a copying process is irrelevant.

Transcript: http://alife.co.uk/essays/universal_selection/

Please buy my book on Memetics: http://memetics.timtyler.org/

"Memetics: Memes and the Science of Cultural Evolution."

Amazon.com link: http://amazon.com/dp/1461035260/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• natural
• selection
• universal
• generalised

[IBMua]

You've got some wrong examples. Evolution occurs in technology, art, sciences. But not in stars and clouds. There's not much meaningful selection, procreation, survivability etc.

[tmtyler]

@IBMua It is evolution MINUS reproduction that is under discussion. To complain about lack of procreation is just to just miss the whole point of the video.

[chitchcott]

I agree with everything you've said, but should it be not just selection, but Universal Darwinism? The physical world is more of a phenotype, with the 'gene' of a particular material complex being the replicator; a chemical formula for example. In this way, a star could be analogous to an organism or a cell. The question is what the the selection pressure for sub-genetic replicators - what kind of niche are they filling? Stability? Btw, you may be interested in: wiki/Quantum_Darwinism

[tmtyler]

@chitchcott Universal Darwinism is a fairly well established idea - also "Generalised Darwinism". Universal selection is part of it. Saying "Darwinism" tends ot bring up copying, though. Selection applies even *without* copying. It thus extends beyond biology, into the realm of maths and physics.

[ImTurningJapanese]

Tim Tyler; I would very much like to get your viewpoint concerning the "EPR Parodox"

(or Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox) Please make this one of your next new videos. Thank You.

[alltat]

Interesting parallels. It's quite easy to come up with examples of the principle in action, once the basic idea has been planted.

[PObserver]

Well yeah Tim, that makes sense with your other video of the crystalline hypothesis of genesis.

[ianonline]

Great to hear from you Tim, some thought provoking ideas here. I can't help but wonder what the creationist response may be to this, but we can likely guess correctly.