3 ms·

So a forager makes a fruitless (har!) trip to the apple tree, explores elsewhere, and finds food. That slightly deconditions the "revisit" behavior, and slightl

by thunk 16y ago

So a forager makes a fruitless (har!) trip to the apple tree, explores elsewhere, and finds food. That slightly deconditions the "revisit" behavior, and slightly conditions the "explore" behavior. Such a planner doesn't seem too difficult for evolution to generate.

sliverstorm 16y ago
But do you know for a fact that searching the apple tree every day until failure, and then traveling elsewhere, is any better and in fact not worse than a combination of randomness and memory? After all, one of the first things you learn in hunter-prey environments (capture the flag, online fps, etc) is you want to be somewhat unpredictable, whether you are hunter or prey. When you are always in the same place, it decreases your survival chances. Considering wild animals are ALWAYS in a hunter-prey environment, it doesn't seem a stretch that this randomness might benefit them in this fashion.