Online evolution demo

Started by MrBogosity, February 19, 2009, 06:45:31 PM

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Here's something I've been playing around with off and on for months, and I think it might be sort-of ready for prime time. It's a demonstration of how evolution is not random chance, by recreating Richard Hardison's program that Richard Dawkins demoed so many times.

Start with a phrase (by default, "To be or not to be"), and click "Start!" It will then start a race between a completely random "monkey" and one that uses mutation and natural selection. Unlike Hardison's algorithm, which simply kept the correct letters and changed the rest, I give the incorrect letters an 80% chance to mutate, and the correct letters a .5% chance of mutating (a deleterious mutation).

The monkey CAN win. If you put in a one-character fitness phrase, the monkey should win half the time. He wins sometimes with two characters, occasionally with three (only once in my experience), and of course the proper phrases are so long it'll never win. So, when creationists talk about these big long genes being so improbable to form by chance, lay this little gem on them. AGREE with them that it's practically impossible by chance, and show them how evolution is NOT chance, but works much, much better, evolving a phrase in a few seconds that would take greater than the lifetime of the universe to achieve randomly.

Here's the url: http://www.shanekillian.org/evolve/evolver.html

I call it the "Really Too Simple Evolver." The first reason is that this isn't a proper genetic algorithm; there's not an actual generation going on, just modifying the phrase. This is supposed to simulate a population, not an individual. The second is, of course, that evolution is not goal-oriented, and the third is that in the real world there may be many different ways of achieving fitness whereas in this simulation there's just one.

But it's enough to give you the idea.

Well, "what do you think, sirs?"

Is it supposed to say "WINNER!!!" if the random phrase does not match the fitness phrase?

The monkey winning does not stop the simulation. It keeps going until the evolved phrase gets a result, and of course the monkey phrase has changed by that point.

February 20, 2009, 09:45:54 AM #3 Last Edit: February 20, 2009, 09:59:36 AM by Tom S. Fox
Neat! But I don't think the creationists will be impressed by that.
They are probably going to say: "See? SEE?! You need a designer!!!!11!!"

Quote from: MrBogosity on February 20, 2009, 06:30:50 AM
The monkey winning does not stop the simulation. It keeps going until the evolved phrase gets a result, and of course the monkey phrase has changed by that point.

Ahh, I see.

I think it is pretty neat. Now all we need to do is contact a real creationist so we laugh at their silly response to it. Probably not too different from Tom S. Fox's guess.

OH NOES GUYS! CREATION WINS! IT'S A MIRACLE! TAKE A LOOK!


Word: God
Total number of generations: 70
Phrase length: 3
Total time at 86.74 generations per second: 0.807 seconds
Estimated amount of time it would take to generate this phrase randomly: 0 years 0 days 0 hours 3 minutes 22.6 seconds.

It begins with SEVEN, in the middle it's SEVEN! And it IS Seven!

The Alpha and the Omega!

The beginning and the end!

This is proof of God! How can those numbers have NOT come together in any other way!? The number of God is 777 and there's 3 sevens inside of these results! With one seven being the first, and the last seven being the last!

OMG IT'S A MIRACLE!

HOW CAN YOU DENY THIS LOGIC?! ZOMGS!!!!11oneone

Cool, IceSage...now run it again. :P


I do not think that you guys quite understand the dangers of hell.  Imagine a really bad part of town.  Hell is much much worse than that.  The things that will happen if you go there will be a very unfortunate sight.  It is also sad because some other people there are much more evil than you-- like Hitler, Stalin, and Darwin too. 

If you deny Jesus and want to use the Evolution and time as your God instead, it is a false idol and will not save you.  You are not a monkey and have never been a monkey.  Stop using excuses to promote your sinful lifestyle!!!  Man is more noble than beasts.  We have the breath of an eternal soul!!!

Common sense should tell you that there are no transitional forms.  If you read the bible, you will see that Darwin was wrong.

Jesus Loves Dinosaurs-- Even the meat eating ones! (like what will eat the peoples in hell)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!! We've got our first fundie!!!

Quote from: Jesus Loves Dinosaurs on April 13, 2009, 06:29:19 AM
I do not think that you guys quite understand the dangers of hell.  Imagine a really bad part of town.  Hell is much much worse than that.  The things that will happen if you go there will be a very unfortunate sight.  It is also sad because some other people there are much more evil than you-- like Hitler, Stalin, and Darwin too. 

If you deny Jesus and want to use the Evolution and time as your God instead, it is a false idol and will not save you.  You are not a monkey and have never been a monkey.  Stop using excuses to promote your sinful lifestyle!!!  Man is more noble than beasts.  We have the breath of an eternal soul!!!

Common sense should tell you that there are no transitional forms.  If you read the bible, you will see that Darwin was wrong.

Jesus Loves Dinosaurs-- Even the meat eating ones! (like what will eat the peoples in hell)


Satire?

Quote from: Jesus Loves Dinosaurs on April 13, 2009, 06:29:19 AM
If you read the bible, you will see that Darwin was wrong.

If you read the world, you would see that jesus was wrong.

Quote from: Real Captain Olimar on April 13, 2009, 04:27:29 PM
If you read the world, you would see that jesus was wrong.

Would it burn your hand to pick up a bible and read?  For you, I would recommend the book of James.  It is a short book to start with and tells you about salvation (and hell!!).  I think that it will ring with truth for you if you soften your heart.

There are materialistic naturalists (some call them Darwinists, but I know this is wrong) who want to Big Bang nature on the first date (sorry, that's my joke -- but they have lost respect for nature like respect for women in their theories).  They are the ones who are funny like in a satire comedy show.  Like a Scientology alien cult, the more you get in, the more ridiculous things they want you to believe in-- like "magic particles" that travel though them and no one has ever detected... or the big bang of nature, which is a theory that doesn't go anywhere.  Somewhere along the line they have hidden their hearts from the Holy Spirit and gotten distracted in the search for Jesus.

I hope that you will check around for Jesus.  That way, you don't have to be so alone in this life.

Jesus Loves Dinosaurs-- Even the ones that are still alive today!

Quote from: Jesus Loves Dinosaurs on April 13, 2009, 08:04:37 PM
Would it burn your hand to pick up a bible and read?  For you, I would recommend the book of James.  It is a short book to start with and tells you about salvation (and hell!!).  I think that it will ring with truth for you if you soften your heart.

There are materialistic naturalists (some call them Darwinists, but I know this is wrong) who want to Big Bang nature on the first date (sorry, that's my joke -- but they have lost respect for nature like respect for women in their theories).  They are the ones who are funny like in a satire comedy show.  Like a Scientology alien cult, the more you get in, the more ridiculous things they want you to believe in-- like "magic particles" that travel though them and no one has ever detected... or the big bang of nature, which is a theory that doesn't go anywhere.  Somewhere along the line they have hidden their hearts from the Holy Spirit and gotten distracted in the search for Jesus.

I hope that you will check around for Jesus.  That way, you don't have to be so alone in this life.

Jesus Loves Dinosaurs-- Even the ones that are still alive today!

Don't feed the troll.

Quote from: Jesus Loves Dinosaurs on April 13, 2009, 08:04:37 PM
Would it burn your hand to pick up a bible and read?

I've read the Bible, cover to cover, and parts of it numerous times. I spent three years studying the Bible, its origins, and the interpretations of the text.

It's a big part of why I'm an atheist!