Re: Minimization principal for evolution

Evolution, to me, is a process that moves a physical system from one
valley (stable state) to another valley by finding the mountain passes.

IMO that is not at all the conventional view. At best, if the mountain
pass is really really low, almost down to the currently-occupied
valley, thermal excitation (i.e. non-fatal only-slightly-disadvantageous
mutations) might cause the entire valley to fill up and finally spill
over the low pass to the next valley. But what usually happens is that
the landscape changes (usually due to either geologic/meteorological
changes, or arms races), whereupon two valleys approach each other (all
motion is relative, so don't get into a debate as to which is really
moving) and eventually near-merge, whereby the population spills to the
unoccupied valley, then later the valleys split again (not necessarily
the same way as before), splitting the population into two, usually
resulting in a speciation event. For example: (V=occupied v=vacant pP=pass)

VVV vv
VVVVVV vvvvv
VVVV vv
V

VV vvv
VVVVVpvvvvvv
VVVV vvvv

VV vvv
VVVVVPVvvvvv
VVV vvvv

VV Vvv
VVVVVPVVVvvv
VVV Vvvv

VVV VVV
VVVVV VVVVVv
VV VVVv

VVV VVVV
VVVVV VVVVV
VV VVV

Note that in the presence of diseases/parasites, most such valleys
would be very flat. Why? Suppose a valley has a deep center? So all the
genomes tend to gravitate toward that deep center. But then
diseases/parasites specialize to attack that center, killing off any of
the primary species located there, erasing that deep center. Ignoring
the disease/parasite, the center is very optimum compared to the rest
of the valley. Considering only the danger of the disease/parasite, the
center of the valley is much *less* fit than the surrounding region.
Combining the two effects, we have a flat-bottomed valley. Thermal
effects (random mutations) cause the population to flow slightly up the
unfavorable edges of the valley, but flattening of the valley itself
caused by diseases/parasites cause a much larger effect in flattening
the valley and spreading the population across the whole valley (and
then up the sides a little per thermal effects of course).
..

.

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