> And if there are defector predators that try to gain an edge by eating more than is sustainable, other predators will try to stop them from doing so.
You're talking about a virus, you know... an inert molecule.
You're talking about a virus, you know... an inert molecule.
It is something like: if something has high odds to exist, given enough time to possibly exist, it will exist.
So an inert protein coming into existence? Sure. Better odds to be replicated? Then it'll happen. We ascribe agency or will to survive. Those probably help the odds in a lot of cases. But the concept is broader than that.
(technically, the self-replication need also admit mutations into the replication process for natural selection to apply. viruses do mutate so, they qualify)