The weasel program, Dawkins' weasel, or the Dawkins weasel is a thought experiment and a variety of computer simulations illustrating it. Their aim is to demonstrate that the process that drives evolutionary systems — random variation combined with non-random cumulative selection — is different from pure chance.
The thought experiment was formulated by Richard Dawkins, and the first simulation written by him; various other implementations of the program have been written by others.
Read more about Weasel Program: Overview, Implications For Biology, Criticism, More Complex Models, Example Algorithm
Other articles related to "weasel program, weasel, program":
... In a simulation experiment Dawkins has his weasel program produce the Hamlet phrase METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL, starting from a randomly typed parent, by ... As Dawkins acknowledges, however, the weasel program is an imperfect analogy for evolution, as "offspring" phrases were selected "according to the criterion of resemblance to a distant ideal ... The weasel program is instead meant to illustrate the difference between non-random cumulative selection, and random single-step selection ...
... Although Dawkins did not provide the source code for his program, a "Weasel" style algorithm could run as follows ... Compare each new string with the target "METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL", and give each a score (the number of letters in the string that are correct and in the correct position) ... The terms of the program and the existence of the target phrase do however mean that such 'negative mutations' will quickly be 'corrected' ...
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