Problems of Symbol Congestion in Computer Languages

[Steve Schafer]

On Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:22:32 -0800 (PST), rantingrick
<rantingrick at gmail.com> wrote:

>Evolution is about one cog gaining an edge over another, yes. However
>the system itself moves toward perfection at the expense of any and
>all cogs.

Um, do you actually know anything about (biological) evolution? There is
no evidence of an overall "goal" of any kind, perfect or not.

 * There are many examples of evolutionary "arms races" in nature; e.g.,
   the cheetah and the gazelle, each gaining incrementally on the other,
   and a thousand generations later, each in essentially the same place
   relative to the other that they started from, only with longer legs
   or a more supple spine.

 * There are many adaptations that confer a serious DISadvantage in one
   aspect of survivability, that survive because they confer an
   advantage in another (sickle-cell disease in humans, a peacock's
   tail, etc.).

>If perfection is evil then what is the pursuit of perfection: AKA:
>gaining an edge?

1) I never said that perfection is evil; those are entirely your words.

2) If you don't already see the obvious difference between "pursuit of
perfection" and "gaining an edge," then I'm afraid there's nothing I can
do or say to help you.

-Steve Schafer