Human Information Processing Recapitulates Evolution by Natural Selection

Human Information Processing Recapitulates Evolution by
Natural Selection
The manner in which information is processed by the human cognitive
system, as described earlier, recapitulates the manner in which natural
selection handles information of the genetic code that results in the
perpetuation and evolution of species. Both systems consist of very large
bodies of information that control the activities of natural entities that
must continually adapt their behavior to a complex environment. It can be
argued that the structure of such information systems happens to have
certain fixed characteristics irrespective of the particular entity they control
or the specific activities of that entity. As a consequence, both natural
selection controlling the adaptation of organisms to their environment and
the cognitive structures that control human behavior incorporate a single,
natural system of information that underlies both processes.
There are several features of such a natural system of information.
(1) Natural information systems consist of an information store suYciently
massive to permit them to behave appropriately in a complex environment.
(2) Any alteration or variation to the information store is tested against
the environment for eVectiveness with eVective alterations added to the store
Evolution of human cognitive architecture 235while ineVective alterations are deleted. (3) All natural variations to the
store are necessarily random. (4) Because large random variations will
almost certainly destroy the functionality of the store, mechanisms must
exist to ensure that most variations are small. The validity of each of these
propositions is considered in more detail