Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M5194

Darwinian Demon

Darwinian Demon
TechnicalHigh supportEvolutionary Biology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A hypothetical perfect organism: it can simultaneously maximize fecundity, lifespan, and dispersal ability, and can reproduce infinitely as soon as it is born. Such an organism does not exist in reality because physical and physiological trade-offs limit it.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

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The unattainability of perfection. If your business plan describes a project with "high profit, fast growth, low risk, and no competitors," then you are describing a "Darwinian demon." In reality, such an organism would be instantly eliminated by the law of trade-offs.

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Assume the existence of a perfect organism that simultaneously maximizes all fitness dimensions, but physical and physiological trade-offs make it impossible, proving the inevitability of 'trade-offs'.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinian_demonZH · Explicit
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