At their core, all of these applications have two things in common: (1) the better an item performs, the more likely its properties will be retained; and (2) when surviving properties are passed on from one generation to the next, variations occur. As long as these two conditions are met, properties will evolve from generation to generation as items become better and better suited to their task.
By the way, life satisfies these two conditions. When evolutionary biologists talk about the first condition, they call it “selection.” When they talk about the second condition, they call it “heredity with variation.” And like any other system that satisfies these conditions, life evolves. Logically, life can’t help but evolve! In one sense, engineers who employ genetic algorithms to evolve technologies are doing something new. But in a deeper sense, they are returning engineering to its roots, tapping the power of the mindless algorithm that has been shaping life for almost 4 billion years.
The public discussion of biological evolution is undeniably muddled. In part that is because people tend to approach it from the wrong direction. Darwin’s voyage on the
Beagle deserves to be the stuff of legend, but if you want to understand evolution, forget about finch beaks or fossils. Instead, talk to a working engineer who is using genetic algorithms to evolve a truss.
Once you’ve wrapped your head around how and why a truss gets so good so quickly, you have the understanding you need to approach evolution as scientists do. You can use that understanding of evolution to make predictions about the world and then see whether those predictions hold true. When you do that, you discover that the predictions of evolution are in remarkable accord with all that we see. From the fossil record to the common chemistry of life, to the shared structure of different species — and now to pharmaceuticals, jet engines, and bridges — we live in a world crafted by evolution’s unguided hand.
Jeff Hester is a keynote speaker, coach, and astrophysicist. Follow his thoughts at
jeff-hester.com.