The rather superb Long Now Foundation seminar series featured a presentation by Paul Ehrlich where he explains an investigation into what evolves most: the form of a canoe or its decoration. The hypothesis was that the form, because of the feedback from its actual use, would evolve more rapidly. The reality was that the ornamentation evolved more, probably because of the urge we all have to make our canoes personal – in other words: to snowflake them!
