Iteration (aka trial-and-error) can solve problems you don't yet understand.
That is not surprising, seeing that evolution itself is really just a really long iteration of different designs. I think about this quite a lot; I guess that we humans use our intelligence to aid our search and thus shorten the time from centuries to years. But the thing about invention is that you never know. The transistor was invented before its mechanism was clearly understood; but the theory showed the possibility of such a device to the scientists. The atomic weapon's theory was known before it was invented however (not discounting the massive engineering effort that made it practical though).
That is not surprising, seeing that evolution itself is really just a really long iteration of different designs. I think about this quite a lot; I guess that we humans use our intelligence to aid our search and thus shorten the time from centuries to years. But the thing about invention is that you never know. The transistor was invented before its mechanism was clearly understood; but the theory showed the possibility of such a device to the scientists. The atomic weapon's theory was known before it was invented however (not discounting the massive engineering effort that made it practical though).