Hi, I'm Tim Tyler - and this is a teaser/trailer for A New Kind of Evolution.
A new kind of evolution is now taking place on the planet.
Darwin's theory described a primitive type of evolutionary process - where
mutations were performed at random.
Now, engineers can perform deliberate modifications based on intelligent
design, drawing on the resources of all living systems, and the knowledge
of all recorded history.
Instead of recombination involving the choice of a single mate, many ideas
from different sources all over the planet can be juxtaposed and combined in a
single generation.
Partial evaluations can be performed and, evaluations can be performed under
simulation - and not just using brain-based simulators, but
proper simulations that actually work reasonably well.
The differences from nucleic evolution are so great that some commentators
have claimed that cultural evolution shouldn't be classified as evolution at
all. However, that is not possible without a redefinition of the term:
evolution involves changes in the inherited traits of a population. There is
no specification that inheritance must be be via nucleic acids.
Cultural evolution has enormously magnified the rate of
evolutionary change on the planet. In a century, skyscrapers have
appeared out of nowhere, machines have probed the other planets, and
the planet has started to glow at night.
Today, we can see evolutionary change taking place in real time,
within an an individual's lifespan. The changes we have witnessed so
far represent civilization's birth trauma - and hopefully, much lies
ahead of us.
The launch phase of evolution
What we are witnessing is a new kind of evolution, based on
engineering design. It is evolution by intelligent agents - as
opposed to the old kind - evolution via a drunkard's walk.
The stuff you read about in evolution textbooks is out-of-date
material which covers an era which is over.
That was just the launch phase of evolution. It got living
systems off the ground, and successfully reached the altitude where
engineers were formed.
Now the booster rockets can be discarded - and the main engines
can be turned on. Please fasten your seat belts.