All things equal. Specie A (with this disease) stop cannibalizing after seeing t... | Hacker News

Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

login

yblu on April 10, 2017 | parent | context | favorite | on: When People Ate People, a Strange Disease Emerged

All things equal.

Specie A (with this disease) stop cannibalizing after seeing the outcome, better chance of survival.

Specie B (without this disease) eat themselves to the last person... Lower chance of survival as a specie.

Nature "cares" by generating lots of options, then let the fittest to survive. So while nature doesn't intend or plan for a specie to survive, the outcome is no different from if it did. I believe the OP means "care" in this sense.

mcguire on April 11, 2017 | [–]

"Specie B (without this disease) eat themselves to the last person... Lower chance of survival as a specie."

That seems unlikely. A bigger risk would be a carnivorous species exterminating its prey species.

idanoeman on April 10, 2017 | [–]

Right, having-prions can be seen as adaptive for a species.

Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.
Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact