Linus Torvalds, the Linux kernel creator, in responding to a complaint why the kernel has evolved via "sheer luck", has this interesting view about engineering complex things. An Excerpt in italic:
"...You know what the most complex piece of engineering known to man in the whole solar system is?
Guess what - it's not Linux, it's not Solaris, and it's not your car.
It's you. And me.
And think about how you and me actually came about - not through any complex design.
Right. "sheer luck".
Well, sheer luck, AND:
- free availability and _crosspollination_ through sharing of "source code", although biologists call it DNA.
- a rather unforgiving user environment, that happily replaces bad versions of us with better working versions and thus culls the herd (biologists often call this "survival of the fittest")
- massive undirected parallel development ("trial and error")..."
The same process probably underlies the relative success of capitalism. Of course, capitalism might be too successful and hastens our species' extinction.
Showing posts with label Linus Torvalds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Linus Torvalds. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
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