Notes on R&D Research and Development Lecture

Introduction to R&D

• Research and Development (R&D) involves:
  • A design process that utilizes information from the environment.
  • Focuses on creating, maintaining, and improving designs.

Types of R&D

• Two main varieties:
  1. Evolution by Natural Selection
  2. Human Intelligent Design (not to be confused with uppercase Intelligent Design)

Key Differences:

• Evolution:

  • Purposeless and lacks foresight.
  • Extremely costly (many lives wasted on failures).
  • Slow process but can be brilliant in outcomes.

• Intelligent Design:

  • Purposeful and somewhat foresighted.
  • Governed by cost considerations.
  • Usually faster than evolution.

Examples of Design Processes

• Termite Castle vs. Gaudi's Church:
  • Termite castle built by millions of oblivious termites without a leader.
  • Gaudi's church represents top-down intelligent design led by a visionary architect.
  • Contrast: Bottom-up (termites) vs. Top-down (designers).

Evolutionary Intelligence vs. Human Intelligence

• Termite colonies exhibit clever organization but lack higher intelligence.
• Question raised: How do we achieve intelligent design (like Gaudi's) from a brain composed of many clueless neurons?
• Answer: Through Thinking Tools developed through Cultural Evolution.

Cultural Evolution

• Cultural evolution allows for the development of thinking tools that enhance our cognitive capacity.
• John Maynard Smith and Eörs Szathmáry's book outlines major transitions in evolution:
  • Eukaryotic Revolution.
  • Emergence of sex.
  • Multicellularity.
  • Language and human culture.

Eukaryotic Revolution

• Eukaryotic cells emerged through endosymbiosis:
  • Two different prokaryotes combined to form a more efficient organism.
  • Evidence of this is seen in having multiple genomes (e.g., mitochondrial DNA).

The McCre Explosion

• Discussed by Paul McCre in the context of human population growth and environmental impact:
  • 10,000 years ago, humans represented less than 1% of terrestrial vertebrate biomass.
  • Today, humans make up about 98% of this biomass, showcasing a dramatic shift.

Memes as Thinking Tools

• Memes are cultural units of information that spread and evolve:
  • They inform cultural evolution just as genes inform biological evolution.
• Key points on memes:
  • They are not inherited biologically but acquired culturally.
  • They evolve through cultural processes, impacting human cognition.

Competence without Comprehension

• Critique of Darwin's theory:
  • Competence can arise without full understanding (e.g., how gazelles signal predators).
  • Similarities drawn to human cognitive processes.

Conclusion

• Cultural evolution leads to a more refined and intelligent design of human culture.
• Current age characterized by a blend of intelligent design and evolutionary processes (e.g., genetic algorithms, deep learning).
• Future of design increasingly reliant on the synergy of human intelligence and evolutionary principles.