Extraordinary Claims
Those who know standard evolutionary theory may at this point object, and say the claim that some aspects of universal change are developmental is extraordinary. As skeptic Marcello Truzzi says, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” This is true, but at present all our models of long-term change in complex systems are rudimentary. Some have more scholarship and more mathematics behind them than others, but none are broadly accepted. We have nowhere near collected sufficient evidence to prove the evo devo model. But there is much circumstantial evidence for it, and I believe it must continue to be investigated until it is ultimately validated or disproven and replaced by better models.
One thing is certain: Science has no good answers yet for these questions. Do you believe the universe is a random accident? Evolutionary? Evo devo? Something else? Make your assessment, but realize it is only systems theory, at this early stage of human understanding. Don’t vilify others for making a different assessment, but also don’t feel you have to go with the pack. The pack, at this stage, is often wrong, in my assessment.