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30 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b OP 10 May \ parent \ on: The Utility of Bike Shedding OP_RETURN limits bitcoin
I think my point is that evolution does the best job that it can eradicating net counterproductive behavior at both the individual and group level (which it can't do perfectly) over time frames that are relevant for survival. Meaning, that when we see inefficient behavior at the individual level, the behavior is probably serving the group. When we see inefficient group behavior, it's probably the result of individual(s) serving themselves.
My sense is that, at least in social species, when evolution optimizes for gene survival, it optimizes for both individual survival and group survival. The group can't survive with out individuals, so they need to be fit. Yet, most genes of any individual will be common among a group, so individuals can occasionally be sacrificed to make the group more fit.
The result, survival, requires, I think, net productive individuals and net productive groups when iterated long enough. So any group behavior or individual behavior we see should be part of some net productive process.
Maybe that's just super optimistic though lol.
There could be all sorts of prisoners dilemma type dynamics wherein certain things that are individually rational are harmful to the group.
Does this mean the gene market is inefficient? :)
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Heh, the two debates are indeed quite related. There's a common joke among economists that goes: "Two economists are walking along the street when one spots a $100 bill lying on the ground. He says, 'Look, a $100 bill on the ground!' To which the other replies, 'Nonsense, if there was a $100 on the ground, someone would've picked it up already.'"
The joke is meant to highlight that economists sometimes take the notion of efficient markets too far, believing that the markets are so efficient there's never any room for easy gains (because if there was, someone would've done it). I think a similar notion can happen in evolutionary biology/sociology, where it's assumed that every possible development must have some evolutionary advantage