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From: jabowery@netcom.com (Jim Bowery)
Subject: Re: Evolving Altruistic behaviour in an Alife Ecosystem
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Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 15:37:53 GMT
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I should also point out the fact that the very conditions presumed by 
most solutions to the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma make it superfulous.

For there to be iteration, there must be repeat encounters.  The most 
realistic evolutionary environment for such repeat encounters is 
the default:  an individual spends most of its life near where it 
was born and therefore encounters other individuals repeatedly 
(iteratively).

However, if you think about it for even a second, you can see that this
assumption leads directly to the conclusion that the individuals are
likely to be related -- meaning kin altruism is a realistic implication of
the evolutionary environment that must be assumed in order to invoke
iterated solutions to the prisoner's dilemma. 

-- 
The promotion of politics exterminates apolitical genes in the population.
  The promotion of frontiers gives apolitical genes a route to survival.
                 Change the tools and you change the rules.
