Testing Evolution – Opposing Evidence

Posted on by Erik Popp
Bar of Gold in the Balance

This is part of a series: testing evolution

I figured out how to test evolution, wrote an evolution simulator, ran it, and found that evolutionary biologists see the same results in actual living things. Now I’ll list some evidence I’ve found that, on the surface, contradicts my findings. I argue that the evidence for my simulator’s accuracy is far stronger than the evidence against. I found that in the long term, evolution isn’t the main thing that happens – devolution is, and devolution eventually leads to extinction.

Continue reading Testing Evolution – Opposing Evidence

Testing Evolution – Supporting Evidence

Posted on by Erik Popp
According to the law of infinite probability, my laundry should eventually fold itself

This post is part of a series: Testing Evolution

EDIT: Here’s a my evolution simulator

I figured out how to test evolution, wrote an evolution simulator, ran it, and listed some testable claims I can make if it’s accurate. Now I’ll list some evidence from biology that shows I’m right – in the long term, evolution is not the main thing that happens: devolution is. This is not a full list. This evidence is easy enough to find that I was able to put this together fairly quickly by looking through a top 10 list of genetic disorders. Some of them are caused by mutations that don’t consistently eliminate themselves by natural selection. These mutations build up in the gene pool over time, causing devolution. If enough of them build up, they’ll eventually drive all life on earth extinct.

Continue reading Testing Evolution – Supporting Evidence

Testing Evolution – How to Tell if I’m Right

Posted on by Erik Popp
Theory and Reality

This is part of a series: testing evolution

I figured out how to test evolution, wrote an evolution simulator, and ran it. If my simulator is accurate, here are some things that should happen in living things.  I’d love to see how many of these have already been found.

EDIT: Here’s a link to my evolution simulator (project page)

If my simulator is correct, then here are three phenomena that should appear in living things:

  1. Evolution
  2. Irreducible Complexity
  3. Devolution Leading to Extinction

Continue reading Testing Evolution – How to Tell if I’m Right

Testing Evolution – The Results

Posted on by Erik Popp

This is part of a series: Testing Evolution

I figured out how to test evolution and I wrote an evolution simulator.  Here are the exact results I get when I run it, and some examples of the same phenomena from biology:

Continue reading Testing Evolution – The Results

Testing Evolution – How I Did It

Posted on by Erik Popp
Muller's Foundry Screenshot - A Mutant That's Better Than the Original

This is part of a series: Testing Evolution

I’m writing this post mainly for anyone who wants to make their own version of my evolution simulator, to prove to themselves that I really got it right. I’ll still try to make it accessible to non-geeks.

I figured out how to test evolution, now it was time to actually do it. In this post, I’ll describe in detail the way that I wrote my evolution simulator.

Outline

Continue reading Testing Evolution – How I Did It

Testing Evolution – How to Do It

Posted on by Erik Popp
Sketch by Leonardo da Vinci

This is part of a series: Testing Evolution

This post is mainly written for anyone who wants to duplicate my results. I’ll try to make it accessible to non-geeks, but there are a lot of technical details.

Summary:

  • I used an evolution simulator to test evolution because that was the easiest way to do it with my skill set
  • My big insight: mutation and natural selection are, for lack of a better term, platform-independent
  • I clarify what exactly mutation and natural selection are, and why I can do the same process to self-copying programs
  • I give examples of other evolutionary algorithms, to give an idea of what most of their authors’ goals are and how they write them
  • I list the main differences between my algorithm and most evolutionary algorithms
    1. They do artificial selection, while mine does natural selection
    2. They usually make their creatures a collection of settings or useful attributes, while I made mine actual programs written in a general-purpose programming language
    3. They mutate as few things as practical, while mine mutates the entire creature’s source code
    4. They reward small, but insignificant improvements, while mine only rewards changes that significantly improve a creature’s ability to spread its genes
    5. They put the creature copier in the simulator, while I put it in each creature

I wanted to test Atheism by testing evolution, but I needed to decide how.

Continue reading Testing Evolution – How to Do It

Why I Believe – The Fall of Evolution

Posted on by Erik Popp
Aging Face

This is part of two series:

  1. Testing Evolution
  2. Why I Believe
Summary:
  1. Evolution is the best explanation that atheists have ever had for life, and it’s probably the best they’ll ever have
  2. I figured out a way to test evolution
  3. Its mechanism mainly causes devolution and eventually extinction
  4. Evolutionary biologists have known about this phenomenon for awhile
  5. Their reason why this isn’t the death of evolution doesn’t hold water
  6. Thus, it’s unreasonable to believe that there is no creator god, and it is reasonable to believe that there is a creator god
  7. The only question left is who this god is, and that’s pretty easy to answer

Here’s my evolution simulator.  It’s a web app, but my Github project page doesn’t serve it as a normal web page.  To run it, download it as a .zip file, extract it, and open “Muller’s Foundry.html”.  It’ll open in your web browser, like a web page, but the URL will be on your local machine, in the form file:///path/to/folder/Muller’s Foundry.html

Screenshot of Muller's Foundry

Continue reading Why I Believe – The Fall of Evolution

DD-WRT Repeater Bridge – Set Up as Repeater Bridge

Posted on by Erik Popp

This is part of a series: dd-wrt Repeater Bridge

Thus far, you have successfully:

  1. Prepared to flash your router with dd-wrt
  2. Flashed your router with dd-wrt (The “trailed/killer” version, then the “real” one)

Now it’s time to tell your router to connect to another router over Wi-Fi, and act as if the 2 routers are actually 1.

Continue reading DD-WRT Repeater Bridge – Set Up as Repeater Bridge

DD-WRT Repeater Bridge – Prepare to Flash

Posted on by Erik Popp

This is part of series: DD-WRT Repeater Bridge

The first thing to do is upgrade the firmware on the second router to something more capable.  DD-WRT is the most popular open-source router firmware, and it’s the one that I used for this project.  To upgrade the software on your router, you will need:

  • Your router’s model number, including the exact revision
  • A web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, or Opera
  • A wired connection to your router (wireless won’t do)
  • For some routers, a TFTP client
    Windows has one built-in, but it’s disabled by default.  How to enable Windows TFTP client
  • Your computer’s IP address set to static

Steps:Router Underside - Model Number Highlighted

Continue reading DD-WRT Repeater Bridge – Prepare to Flash