The Idle Theory of Evolution

The Survival of the Idlest

All living creatures have to work to stay alive. Some have to work harder than others to stay alive. Those creatures that need do little work to stay alive are more likely to survive periods of difficulty than those that must work longer.

The Idle Theory of Evolution is a slight variant of the Darwinian theory of natural selection. Darwin's struggle for existence becomes simply hard work. The fittest are the most idle creatures, not the strongest or fastest or most rapidly reproducing.

Index

The Idle Theory of Evolution is explored in a number of linked (and uneven) essays. Some deal with general issues. Others include simulation models, or the results of simulations. This index attempts to group together those essays which share a common theme.

Introductions to Idle Theory Preface. An overview of the Idle theory of evolution. The Idle Life model. A description of the simple physical model of life used in Idle Theory.

Idle Theory 1. Idle Cell Life A mechanistic account of cell growth and division. 2. Idle Cell Populations Population growth in energy streams and pools. 3. Multicellular lifeforms Coercive and cooperative multicellular life.

Simulation Models The IdleLife (Java) simulation model shows an initial wide diversity of reproducing creatures being reduced to a few varieties with high populations, with the intermediates extinct. Stream-fed Populations. The Malthus Java simulation model. Populations of grazers feeding in a nutrient stream demonstrate S-curve growth to a maximum. Pool-fed Populations The Malthus Java simulation model. Populations of grazers feeding from a pool of nutrients are shown to oscillate. Predation. The Malthus Java simulation model. Predators are introduced into a pool-feeding population to attempt to restrict grazer populations. A variety of population behaviour results The Tetra simulation model. QuickBasic model of omnivore 'tetrapod' populations feeding on a homogeous photosynthetic soup. Predation results in long periods of population near-stability. Comments on the models. Discusses the Malthus and Tetra simulation models.

Darwinism While Idle Theory accepts natural selection, it does not accept Darwin's portrayal of evolution as a competitive struggle for existence, or , as Darwin put it, a "war of nature". Either Darwinism, or the Theory of Evolution. The theory of evolution has become completely identified with a Darwinian evolutionary drama. The two must be disentangled if the theory of evolution is ever to gain acceptance. Darwin's War of Nature. Darwin's "war of nature" was a dramatic device. The Malthusian Oscillation. Argues that all the main components of the Darwinian system were contained in Malthus' Essay on Population. Competition argues that direct competition is improbable in the natural world. The Ethical Consequences of Competition discusses the various responses to the ethical implications of Darwin's competitive Struggle For Existence.