RE: Head binding now and the past
May 21, 2022 at 9:03 pm
(This post was last modified: May 21, 2022 at 9:38 pm by Anomalocaris.)
No, you misunderstand. it is a matter of theoretical possibility. The tail needs to provide an evolutionary advantage to offset the energy cost of growing one in order to remain a feature of the gene pool, as it no doubt tails of mice provides in mice whose tail is not cut off.
But in mice whose tail is cut off, the amputated tail no longer provides its original advantage. so investment of energy required to grow one in the first place is in effect wasted. so if you cut off the tail of every mouse, then natural selection will now favor mouse whose genes invest less in the futile effort to grow a tail that will be cut off. because animals that waste less energy on fruitless investments tend to be able to invest more in more rewarding investments.
But in mice whose tail is cut off, the amputated tail no longer provides its original advantage. so investment of energy required to grow one in the first place is in effect wasted. so if you cut off the tail of every mouse, then natural selection will now favor mouse whose genes invest less in the futile effort to grow a tail that will be cut off. because animals that waste less energy on fruitless investments tend to be able to invest more in more rewarding investments.
