Natural Selection: Could there be any other alternative?
Natural selection is a mechanism for generating an exceedingly high degree of improbability — Ronald Fisher
With my newly found identity as a more intelligent self, I continue with my quest for understanding and questioning the reasons for the wonders that surround me. In doing so, I quickly learn that it is so easy to keep going down rabbit holes. An answer to one question inevitably leads to another. Perhaps that is the reason that ultimately one gives up and says it is turtles all the way.
So, after little exploration I had figured out the reasons behind the fact that the physiology of my eyes is receptive to electromagnetic radiation between violet (380 nanometers) and red (750 nanometers). The reason had something to do with the spectral irradiance of the Sun and that living organisms are compelled to compete for the energy it provides.
Learning how well the physiology of my eyes fit the environment, I started to wonder about a more fundamental question whether my seeing a particular part of the electromagnetic spectrum an evolutionary inevitability.
Given the boundary conditions set by the Sun under which I evolved, inevitability of my traits fitting the environment is certainly a plausible hypothesis. Perhaps other options, for example, eyes being perceptive to the infrared part of the electromagnetic radiation, were tried and either were turned out to be dead ends or if some of them did work they got relegated to living in some lonely ecological niche like bats do.
Guided by the firm hands of the principles of natural selection that shape evolution and favor the survival of the fittest, the physiology of my eyes could indeed be an evolutionary inevitability.
The curiosity did not rest there. It wanted to go a little deeper into the rabbit holes and wonders if the principles of natural selection and the survival of the fittest, itself are an inevitability.
It may be so, my mind posits. The mind scurried down to explore following holes.
The Sun can only provide a fixed amount of radiative energy for the entirety of the Earth to consume (and the number depends on the Earth’s distance from the Sun and the disc area of the Earth to intercept the radiation). No argument there.
All biological forms need energy to hold themselves together, and ultimately, the only source of energy is from the Sun and that amount of energy is finite. No argument there either.
What defines a biological form is replication and reproduction. For otherwise, they might as well be rocks. Can I really argue with that?
With available energy being finite, competition for energy among various biological forms follows. By chance happenstance, some traits may be more efficient accessing the common pool of available energy.
Biological forms that evolve traits that are more efficient in garnering available energy have a better fitness quotient for survival and reproduction.
If a trait allows for better chances for reproduction, that particular trait proliferates in future generations and the biological form thereby evolves.
And that is the process of natural selection and the survival of the fittest.
It is hard to give a contrary argument against any of the steps that led to above inference. It is almost that natural selection has a natural grace for its logic and there could not have been any other way.
Going down these rabbit holes almost makes the existence of principles of natural selection an inevitability.
The simplicity, and the logical necessity of the argument begs for the question — could it have been any other way than natural selection works? It sure does not seem likely.
The curiosity wants to do down deeper and wonder whether biological forms in the different corners of the universe share the same traits as me, and perhaps, there might also be some inevitability for biological forms sharing the same traits as me even if separated by light years.
After all, no matter where the Starship Enterprise goes, biological forms are somewhat similar to mine. Although it is just TV show made for entertainment, but there might be some inevitability for it.
For now, the brain cells are fatigued and need some rest. Exploring other rabbit holes can wait for tomorrow.
Ciao.
