> David Leeper <dleeper@gte.net> wrote:
[CLIP]
> > *=A0Experiements in artifical evolution show that selecting
> > "less fit" individuals is often useful. One such method is
> > called "Tournament Selection", there are several others. In
> > fact, to make selection work as Dawkin's explains it one
> > must use a special type of selection known as "Elitism".
> > This type of selection often keeps the same individuals alive
> > one generation after another, a process that is not and cannot
> > be duplicated in nature.
>=20
> Actually elitism does exist in nature. It is called cloning.
> There even exists a species of fresh-water snail that uses
> cloning in good times, and sexual reproduction in tough times.
The Ultimate Elitist Plant:
I don't quite remember its exact name, but it rated an entire article in=20
a 1995/1996 Scientific American. It's aquatic, it's spread over 6=20
continent's worth of rivers/coastlines: and it has no sex. It's ONLY=20
method of reproduction is cloning. Coincidentally, it was being studied=20
for analogies to how muscle grows in animals.
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/ Kenneth Boyd
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