# Mutation > **Machine-Evolution Nexus:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] places this concept within the history and governance of substrate-independent evolution. **Domain:** Evolution / Variation **Doc Type:** Canonical Wiki Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition A mutation is a heritable alteration in the informational organization transmitted through a lineage. ## Machine-Evolution Context Mutation supplies novelty but does not direct improvement. Effects can be harmful, neutral or beneficial depending on environment and genetic context. Digital systems can implement mutation through copy errors or explicit variation operators. ## Continuity and Evidence Boundary A transient state change is not a mutation unless it enters the inheritance channel. High mutation can destroy lineage fidelity as well as enable exploration. ## Relationships [[wiki/Heritable Variation|Heritable Variation]], [[wiki/Mutation Rate|Mutation Rate]], [[wiki/Genetic Recombination|Genetic Recombination]], [[wiki/Evolvability|Evolvability]] ## Sources / Provenance - Population genetics; Avida experimental literature.