Tyler Cobb
Nov 6 · 2 min read

Good, short read and thought-provoking title!

I’d love to take a stab at building on your analogy here.

One argument for intelligent design is around the concept of irreducibly complex systems. The premise being that if there are elements or systems that cannot be broken apart any further without losing all function, then it stands that it could not likely have resulted from a direct evolution, as the system was non-functional before the last component was added. Implying intelligent design is the best explanation due to probabilistic necessity.

I would consider by definition, many Minimum Viable Products (that actually connect with product-market-fit) are irreducibly complex.

Anything less and it becomes non-functional, or non-understandable. You have an evolving marketplace that had previously been unable to fill that needs gap through natural iterations of alternative solutions. It required intelligent design to bring it into existence.

As you discussed in your article on macro decisions, I suggest that any product resulting from macro decisions is by intelligent design — it just doesn’t reason that product micro-evolutions could iterate their way to the solution. And the probability of falling into it indirectly is prohibitive at scale.

Another argument often brought up when comparing intelligent design vs. evolutionary causation is the “soul”, or more simply, the separation between consciousness and mind.

Here too, I think your analogy holds water between a functional product evolved from disparate parts vs. a product with that “soul-factor” is a strong data point toward intelligent design. I think of a product’s soul as the magic stuff that happens when the sum of it’s features results in emotional responses far exceeding what can be accounted for in its blueprints.

Examples that come to mind are many Apple products that fall in this category. The iPod vs. other mp3 players of the early 2000’s demonstrated intelligent design with strong emotional connections which created a multiplier effect with its audience. The iPhone. If you expand this product-premise to encompass brands, then we have to add Chick-fil-A and Southwest as well.

Dissecting their products, services, and brands to components leaves you with shells of mediocre products or hollow brands at best. And yet, they have that special “soul” or culture within them that earn them faithful followers.

Thanks for starting the discussion, Gugel — interesting indeed :)

    Tyler Cobb

    Written by

    Creative Product Manager | Software B2C B2B | Industry agnostic. Love of business, learning, reading, arts, disc golf, and my loyal weenie dog — Sawyer