TheTangentBundle

Critics of the theory of evolution sometimes use the argument that if you shake a box full of broken watch parts that a functional watch will never form, and therefore the argument that simple molecules somehow evolved into complex life through mutation is inherently flawed. Most scientists actually have no problem with this as, they argue, if you shake the box long enough eventually something will happen. The Earth has been around for a very long time, and the improbableness of these events just doesn't make a dent when you sit around for 4.5 billion years.

But if you've read this far, I'm probably preaching† to the converted, and perhaps so is the subject of this post. This video turns the issue on its head by showing that you can, in fact, form a functional watch if you throw some evolution in the mix. The creator† of this video wrote a computer simulation that uses little more than the affinity between watch parts and allowing for mutations and genetic exchange to "evolve" timepieces that seem incredibly robust against the parameters in the model.

I seriously doubt that anything short of divine intervention will convert hardened creationists, and this video is probably too specifically targeted to get the message across, but Mother Nature has been around much longer than God, and she probably won't be offended by a few naysayers!

† Puns intended

I've found that video about a month ago, it truely is refreshing to see that old argument "debunked" =)

Have you tried to run his code?

You can find very interesting videos on YouTube on this topic like this pair with Richard Dawkins, one with Kenneth Miller (only the first half is truely interesting) and for a bit of fun Ricky Gervais on Genesis.

I saw the Gervais one a while back, (and posted about it) it's indeed sidesplittingly funny; worth watching again.

I think his code is matlab, which I don't have. I've considered writing similar simulations for fun and games, but I haven't quite decided what the raw elements should be. Watch bits aren't very exciting to watch =)