Detecting design or intent in nature

[Heywood]

The birds evolved, not the nests. Nests don't reproduce.

Nests get replicated. Reproduction is not needed for evolution just replication. Even biological evolution does not require reproduction. Let me give you an example.

Suppose Craig Venter wants to create himself a bacteria that shits out gasoline. Craig designs himself a bacteria and builds it. He then looks to see if the bacteria he built is shitting out gasoline and notices it isn't so he destroys it. He then has his computer make a small random change to the genome. Craig then builds a 2nd bacteria with this modified genome. Craig looks to see if this modified design of bacteria is shitting out gasoline and notices its isn't so he destroys it.

Now if the initial design of the bacteria shitted out something that was closer to gasoline than the modified design, Craig goes back to that initial design and has his computer preform another random modification to the genome. He builds another bacteria, observes to see if it shits out gasoline....etc.

If the modified design of the bacteria shitted out something that was closer to gasoline than the initial design, Craig keeps this modified design. Craig then has his computer make a 2nd random modification to it. Builds a bacteria and observes to see if it shits out gasoline....etc.

Craig repeats this process, tossing out the random modifications which cause the bacterial shit to be less like gasoline and keeping the modifications which do cause the bacterial shit to be more like gasoline. Eventually Craig will end up with a bacteria that shits out something very close to gasoline. Biology has evolved without reproduction.

This process can be automated and scaled up and in principle not one bacteria ever has to reproduce itself. The bacteria are being replicated via manufacture instead of reproduction. Replication is needed for evolution to happen....not replication by reproduction as you keep(errantly) insisting.