Uploaded December 2010 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Most people are familiar with the idea of natural selection. Some things survive better than others - and the world which observers witness is populated by the things that are good at surviving. The idea is sometimes known as "survival of the fittest".
However, many people associate this idea with life and living systems. What is less-commonly understood is that the principle of natural selection is a broad and deep one, which also applies to non-living things.
Natural selection affects everything that comes into existence. Whether or not it comes into existence via a copying process is irrelevant.
Transcript: alife.co.uk/essays/universal_selection
Please buy my book on Memetics: memetics.timtyler.org
"Memetics: Memes and the Science of Cultural Evolution."
Amazon.com link: amazon.com/dp/1461035260
Most people are familiar with the idea of natural selection. Some things survive better than others - and the world which observers witness is populated by the things that are good at surviving. The idea is sometimes known as "survival of the fittest".
However, many people associate this idea with life and living systems. What is less-commonly understood is that the principle of natural selection is a broad and deep one, which also applies to non-living things.
Natural selection affects everything that comes into existence. Whether or not it comes into existence via a copying process is irrelevant.
Transcript: alife.co.uk/essays/universal_selection
Please buy my book on Memetics: memetics.timtyler.org
"Memetics: Memes and the Science of Cultural Evolution."
Amazon.com link: amazon.com/dp/1461035260
