Does it make sense to speak of a really powerful optimisation *process* under this definition. Consider the man building the car, how good the car will be is dependent upon him, but also the general society around him. Have a person with the same genetics grow up in the early 1900s and today and they will be able to hit radically different points in optimisation space, not due to their own ability but due to what has been discovered and the information and economy around them.

Another example, give me a workshop, the internet and a junkyard and I might be able to whip up a motor vehicle, strand me on the desert island, the best I could come up with is probably a litter. Maybe a wooden bicycle.

Similarly for ideas, Newtons oft quoted comment about shoulder standing, indicates that relying on other optimisation processes is also very useful.