"Page0060" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bloom Howard - The Lucifer Principle (htm))

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pop-em beads.  When the pretzel let the finished product go again, it

had unwittingly made a mirror image of itself.

The replica had the same property as its pretzel-like parent.

Molecules of sludge were attracted to its surface.  Each segment of

surface would pull toward it a very specific atomic shape.  So the

replica's exterior acted like a paint-by-numbers canvas, drawing

precisely the correct component to exactly the right spot.  Once all the

new molecules were lined up in order, they'd snap together.  The

result: yet another spanking new copy, ready to unpeel from its parent

and drift away.   The fresh-born copy, in its turn, would attract other

wandering molecules to its face, where they would line up, pop

together, then uncouple to be carried off by the currents of the

sludge-filled early seas.

The molecules with the peculiar ability to make copies of

themselves are called replicators.45  And replicators, like the

innovations that had preceded them, would move the universe one

more step up the ladder of complexity.

For eons, replicators would drift through the chemical soup of

the early earth, casually copying themselves.  But eventually, the

population of molecular xerox machines would grow overwhelming,

and the supplies of untouched organic sludge would begin to run

short.  That's when the replicator that could do more than merely

reproduce itself would have an edge.

The replicators that could do more, says Dawkins, were those

that "learned" to make copies from more than just raw sludge.  They

could take apart their competitors and reassemble the components for

their own purposes.  Other replicators arose who could defend

themselves.  The first defense was probably a simple chemical armored

shell--like those that protect some bacteria.  But over time, the armored

suits became more intricate, developing muscular whips to provide

speed, movable fins for steering, and someday way, way down the

road, hands, feet and brains.  The descendants of the early replicators

  cidentally--snapped the molecules it was embracing together like

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ac

pop-em beads.  When the pretzel let the finished product go again, it

had unwittingly made a mirror image of itself.

The replica had the same property as its pretzel-like parent.

Molecules of sludge were attracted to its surface.  Each segment of

surface would pull toward it a very specific atomic shape.  So the

replica's exterior acted like a paint-by-numbers canvas, drawing

precisely the correct component to exactly the right spot.  Once all the

new molecules were lined up in order, they'd snap together.  The

result: yet another spanking new copy, ready to unpeel from its parent

and drift away.   The fresh-born copy, in its turn, would attract other

wandering molecules to its face, where they would line up, pop

together, then uncouple to be carried off by the currents of the

sludge-filled early seas.

The molecules with the peculiar ability to make copies of

themselves are called replicators.45  And replicators, like the

innovations that had preceded them, would move the universe one

more step up the ladder of complexity.

For eons, replicators would drift through the chemical soup of

the early earth, casually copying themselves.  But eventually, the

population of molecular xerox machines would grow overwhelming,

and the supplies of untouched organic sludge would begin to run

short.  That's when the replicator that could do more than merely

reproduce itself would have an edge.

The replicators that could do more, says Dawkins, were those

that "learned" to make copies from more than just raw sludge.  They

could take apart their competitors and reassemble the components for

their own purposes.  Other replicators arose who could defend

themselves.  The first defense was probably a simple chemical armored

shell--like those that protect some bacteria.  But over time, the armored

suits became more intricate, developing muscular whips to provide

speed, movable fins for steering, and someday way, way down the

road, hands, feet and brains.  The descendants of the early replicators

  cidentally--snapped the molecules it was embracing together like