Robotic tadpoles emulate evolution

Correct description of the physical aspects of the study.

Typical INcorrect conclusions of the findings, biased by the perspective of those conducting the experiments.

What is being modelled is intelligent selection of traits based on successful performance of limited tasks, and observation of the results when traits of similarly successful designs are combined. Addition of an avoidance task will allow the intelligent adaptation of existing traits to more than one variable. This is adaptation and intelligent development by multiple iteration, NOT evolution, and is being directed by Intelligent Designers.

Evolution implies a new species that can no longer 'mate' with the original species. It would have to account for the complexity of even single-cell organisms to develop dozens of independent functions, each accidentally developed independently, without any one of which the single cell could not support it's own life. Everything else is just adaptation to the environment by an existing species.
That's just ONE of the myriad reasons that evolution, as a theory, just can't hold water in the light of current findings and observations.
Not to mention the complete absence of those stable in-between species that Darwin thought would be found if evolution were a valid hypothesis, and which would have had to have outnumbered the present stable species by an order of magnitude...but which do not exist. QED.

"What is being modelled is intelligent selection of traits based on successful performance of limited tasks, and observation of the results when traits of similarly successful designs are combined. Addition of an avoidance task will allow the intelligent adaptation of existing traits to more than one variable. This is adaptation and intelligent development by multiple iteration..."

Ok, I'll go along with you up till here, but you lost me right about here... "and is being directed by Intelligent Designers".

Your assertion that this is intelligent design doesn't seem to me to fit the definition of that term (not that I have "studied" the concept in depth), since the people assembling the next generation are not trying to anticipate what will work better... they are just mixing up the "survivors".

Besides, the title of the story says "emulate evolution", not "is evolution". We're talking robots here... I think we should give the researchers some credit for doing this work; asking for adherence to a rule of "new species can't mate" from robots at this stage in the, dare I say, evolution of robotics isn't fair. After all, you can't run until you can crawl!

Now me thinks robtic tadpole nice and all ... excuse me for asking, but what exactly are you talking about ???!

For example - "new species can't mate" ?? My wife says I'm a different species and we have meanwhile sucessfully mated on numerous occasions.

Furthermore, evolution has nothing to do with mating compatability. My thoughts about a certain topic typically evolve the more time I spend thinking about the topic. My thoughts are subsequently fully able to combine, modulate, recombine and reproduce themselves irregardless of how much they have evolved over time. And yes, the processes involved in the formation of thoughts in any brain of any brain carrying creature on this planet follow the exact same rules as which Charles Darwin and other evolutionary theorist have put forth. Interestingly, the evolutionary processes associated with thought, learning and behaviour, are also applicable to the general natural selection of all life on this planet and even in machines utilizing such things as neural networks and fuzzy logic .

The process of evolution is by definition surely the most intelligent method of design.

To doubt, that which is obvious, may oft be a laudable trait. To blindly follow whilst remaining oblivious, is a for ignorance reserved fate.

Gus Winkle

Well, I can't say that I disagree with you because I don't know what you're trying to say (with respect to robotic evolution, which is the topic at hand). So yes, I will excuse you for asking "what exactly are you talking about ???!", and the feeling is mutual.

But frogs of certain breed for natural reason change sexes male / female at times , so we are iscussing electronic mating and what exactly are they doing exchange electron/hole with its mate and amplifying to generate a harmonic spike , fitered , converted to digital format , fed for processing and we have bug called egg , these bioelectronics are what we will see in future as we see in animations and video games