It's funny that you use language as if there was deliberate intent in universe ("trial and error" or "anomalous exceptions to norms"). I would say that in a closed self-sustained and self-contained "godless" creative (evolving) system all notions of trial, error, anomaly and such are moot. All are just events.

Also, I didn't want to argue whether something is or is not deterministic. Physics definitely leans in favor of it (determinism). Choice then may be just an adjustment mechanism to compensate for otherwise causal pseudo-random (as in PRNG) events in biological realm. What I wanted to say is that, whether random or deterministic, the eventual rolls are to be expected either way (then again, in a "godless" environment, expectation is moot as well).

I cannot help myself but to poke into that disgust of yours again. As I see it, the underlying condition of the things you describe (disgust, promethean or satanic hostility toward nature, insular civilization, and I would also add Sisyphean endeavors to the mix) is simply fear of death.