Post date: Nov 20, 2015 4:13:46 PM
A friend shared this xkcd comic on her Facebook. This was my reply:
I definitely wouldn't describe evolution as "the most aggressive optimization process in the universe". In fact, I'd say it's probably on the opposite end of the spectrum, which is why the "code" is such a cluster____ and why life is so diverse. I'm not even 100% sure what you would say evolution is optimizing. Probability of continued existence? That search space is going to be ridiculously volatile (varying instant by instant, really).
Update - 2016-06-29: Maybe evolution is optimizing the probability of all life's continued existence? That is, it's maximizing the probability that at least one organism will be alive in the next moment. Thought of in that framework, it sort of makes sense that evolution would "diversify its portfolio".