Hi,

I thought some might be interested in this quotation from Richard
Dawkins's 1995 book, "River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life."
Dawkins brings up the idea of reverse engineering as a way to try and
deduce why an animal has certain attributes or behaviors. Dawkins
selects the slide rule to illustrate this:

"The slide rule, talisman until recently of the honorable
profession of engineer, is in the electronic age as obsolete as any
Bronze Age relic. An archaeologist of the future, finding a slide
rule and wondering about it, might note that it is handy for drawing
straight lines or for buttering bread. But to assume that either of
these was its original purpose violates the economy assumption. A
mere straight-edge or butter knife would not have needed a sliding
member in the middle of the rule. Moreover, if you examine the
spacing of the graticules you find precise logarithmic scales, too
meticulously disposed to be accidental. It would dawn on the
archaeologist that, in an age before electronic calculators, this
pattern would constitute an ingenious trick for rapid multiplication
and division. The mystery of the slide rule would be solved by
reverse engineering, employing the assumption of intelligent and
economical design."
[p. 103]

- Jim Cerny