an illuminating metaphor for the process of biological evolution

Clement Valla asked 500 people to consecutively trace what was, at first, a single line. As each person traces the last person's line, the result becomes more and more jumbled and complex.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Evolution

[ogelioholde921r]

I want this video on my e949/L1 phone.

[lxTheDukexl]

too bad it didn't slowly change back into a straight line. that would be hilarious

[Stinukli]

@TheJohnnylloyd That's a good point. However, say that a "mutation" causes it to resemble say a knife, and that it therefore would be beneficial.

[TheJohnnylloyd]

@frogsoda Sure, but you don't know what these lines are doing. You have no idea whether the shape they've taken is beneficial or not.

[download333]

@PsychoticSnake Change over time pushed in some direction by a selection pressure. This was more of an example of genetic drift, if it were not held in check by the increased mortality rate that would be a consequence of destructive changes to a genome.

[frogsoda]

@TheJohnnylloyd Depends on what it's used for. If it is marking the center of straight road, then I should not have to explain the benefits of having a straight line.

[TheJohnnylloyd]

@frogsoda Define "beneficial" in the context of a line. Why are squiggly lines worse off than straight ones?

[specialeddie11]

1:10 ... jackass

[JustThisFor]

What is the name of the song?

[TechXMarine]

@7thBillionPerson Because anything that doesn't work dies and doesn't have a chance to reproduce, so the variations we see now are the chaotic forms that were a benefit. Evolution seems chaotic to us but it can be seen as more of a system.

The water drops you see on your window during a rainy say seem absolutely random but really the path they take down your window is a system in which they follow a path of the least resistance, seem random on the outside but its not.