Is There a Really Optimal Solution in Biology?

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The combinatorial immensity of biological space is stupidly large, we're never going to find the truly optimal solution in any exact sense. But on the other hand, who cares about that? It's not even clear that there is a sensible idea of theruly optimal solution in biology. So being a little bit more conscious of what your altruism is actually doing and deploying it in ways that are most effective seems to be a very sensible thing to do.

Welcome to the September 2022 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patrons, whittle them down to a more manageable number — based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questions themselves are good — and sometimes group them together if they are about a similar topic. Enjoy!

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