selection is an atom of design

I feel like explaining this any further will just result in shitty empty tautological sentences. The reason the note exists, though, is to track and maybe pump against the thing where we tend to anthropomorphize agentic processes. Where it seems like there's a "designer" at play, you can ask:

What's doing the selecting?

This is one tool for searching the causal vicinity without having to anthropomorphize. (I mean by all means anthropomorphize to the extent that it helps you cogitate. This is meant to be one alternate lens, prescriptions sold separately.)