Evolution - Chickens and Eggs

All or Nothing Features

However, accelerating evolution is not enough to solve some chicken-and-egg type problems. The speed ups only work if there is already some small advantage in a change in a particular direction, they help to lock in on that direction.

There are a number of cases where it is hard to see how a partly evolved version of some feature would be at an advantage. Without this, how can evolution act?

Three apparently all-or-nothing problems to the theory of evolution are:

• The Venus Flytrap - If the leaves close slowly or the 'prison bars' do not intercollate correctly the fly will get away.
• The First Cell - An incomplete cell would not hold its contents, so what advantage would it have?
• Accurate Replication - How could accurate replication arise from inaccurate replication?

• For the Venus Flytrap the Sundew points to how an intermediate could work.
• For the first cell, 'tethered' reactions are a solution and
• For inaccurate replication we can look at the problem in terms of evolution of 'Eigenstates'.