Orgel's rule
Encyclopedia
Orgel's rules are a set of axioms attributed to the evolutionary biologist Leslie Orgel
.
is too slow or too inefficient a protein
will evolve to speed it up or make it more efficient."
This "rule" comments on the fact that there is a great number of proteins in all organisms which fulfil a number of different functions through modifying chemical or physical processes. An example would be an enzyme
that catalyses
a chemical reaction
that would take place too slow to benefit an organism without being sped up by this enzyme.
is cleverer than you are."
Orgel's Second Rule is intended as a rejoinder to the argument by lack of imagination.
In general, this rule expresses the sometimes experienced fact that "trial and error" strategies are better than centralized intelligent human planning.
Orgel's rule can also be used to counter creationist arguments in which often the hidden and non-provable presumption is suggested, that human intelligent planning is in general superior to trial and error strategies used by evolution.
The same principle has been given as an analogy to software developed in an evolutionary sense by group collaboration, as opposed to software built to a pre-ordained design that was created without reference to previous implementation. Although, the development is not claimed to be of the same random nature as is by evolutionary genetics.
Leslie Orgel
Leslie Eleazer Orgel FRS was a British chemist.Born in London, England, Orgel received his B.A. in chemistry with first class honours from Oxford University in 1949...
.
Orgel's First Rule
"Whenever a spontaneous processSpontaneous process
A spontaneous process is the time-evolution of a system in which it releases free energy and moves to a lower, more thermodynamically stable energy state...
is too slow or too inefficient a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
will evolve to speed it up or make it more efficient."
This "rule" comments on the fact that there is a great number of proteins in all organisms which fulfil a number of different functions through modifying chemical or physical processes. An example would be an enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
that catalyses
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
a chemical reaction
Chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
that would take place too slow to benefit an organism without being sped up by this enzyme.
Orgel's Second Rule
"EvolutionEvolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
is cleverer than you are."
Orgel's Second Rule is intended as a rejoinder to the argument by lack of imagination.
In general, this rule expresses the sometimes experienced fact that "trial and error" strategies are better than centralized intelligent human planning.
Orgel's rule can also be used to counter creationist arguments in which often the hidden and non-provable presumption is suggested, that human intelligent planning is in general superior to trial and error strategies used by evolution.
The same principle has been given as an analogy to software developed in an evolutionary sense by group collaboration, as opposed to software built to a pre-ordained design that was created without reference to previous implementation. Although, the development is not claimed to be of the same random nature as is by evolutionary genetics.