From: Doug Jones (random@qnet.com)
Date: Sat Dec 09 2000 - 16:26:01 MST
Max More wrote:
>
> Reading some of the discussion about the genesis and development of the
> Web, I remembered this piece:
>
> In Praise of Evolvable Systems
> Why something as poorly designed as the Web became The Next Big
> Thing, and what that means for the future.
>
> http://www.shirky.com/writings/evolve.html
Good points, which I've conciously used for years. Whether it's a
program to translate silicon die coordinates into an AutoCad file, a
rocket engine, or a test stand, I get it working poorly then tweak it
up, rather than try to crank out a perfect implementation on the first
pass. Variation and selection then work their magic...
For instance, two months ago we got our first LOX/alcohol engine running
on a new stand built for the purpose. Since then we've tried about ten
engine configurations and made about six test stand changes. Some were
improvements, some we changed right back, but there's no way we could
have reached the current setup by pure design.
If your designs and concepts don't evolve, you're doing something wrong.
-- Doug Jones Rocket Plumber, XCOR Aerospace http://www.xcor-aerospace.com
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