[betty boop]

Obviously random changes with an associated selection process (whereby self binding antibodies are eliminated) is a very POWERFUL mechanism.

Who or what is doing the "selecting?"

[allmendream]

In the case of antibodies, it is the cellular mechanism of apoptosis doing the selecting. All self binding antibodies trigger apoptosis, cell suicide, while a person is still in utero. That is negative selection.

After birth, if an antibody binds to its ‘epitope’ it is positively selected for and signaled to proliferate; this is why you only catch the same cold once. After you are exposed to it your antibodies that bind to it are mass produced and ready and waiting if they ever see that viral epitope again.

My point is that the immune system uses randomly created variation and a selection process to create the means whereby it can make a specific “tool” (an antibody) that can fit any specific nut or bolt in existence (3-D shape than an antibody binds to).

It is obvious that random variation and selection of that variation is a POWERFUL method, one used commonly in nature.