Weasel Program

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

Famous quotes containing the words weasel and/or program:

    One of our defects as a nation is a tendency to use what have been called “weasel words.” When a weasel sucks eggs the meat is sucked out of the egg. If you use a “weasel word” after another there is nothing left of the other.
    Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)

    If Los Angeles has been called “the capital of crackpots” and “the metropolis of isms,” the native Angeleno can not fairly attribute all of the city’s idiosyncrasies to the newcomer—at least not so long as he consults the crystal ball for guidance in his business dealings and his wife goes shopping downtown in beach pajamas.
    —For the State of California, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)