5 ms·

Not understanding how this is the best strategy to find success. A straight direction would be quicker and travel further.

• RC_ITR 4y ago
  Speed and distance aren’t what is being solved for. Maximizing the chance of hitting an arbitrary spot is.
• Xylakant 4y ago
  A straight line would require that you know where to go. But the bean (or rather it’s occupant) doesn’t - it has no eyes to look outside. So essentially it decides “it’s uncomfortably warm, let’s go elsewhere” until it’s no longer uncomfortable.
  • Y_Y 4y ago
    I see what you mean, but it's not necessarily true. You could pick an initial direction and keep jumping that way. I don't know what kind of environment would favour this behaviour, or if the beans can "jump the same way as last time" but it's certainly plausible.
    • The_Colonel 4y ago
      Agreed, but the bean would probably very quickly find an obstacle over which it cannot jump. It would have to change direction then, but that's a much more complex strategy. Another problem is that the bean probably can't keep a direction even if it "wanted". It uses random walk, quite possibly because it's the simplest to achieve acceptable results.
      • Y_Y 4y ago
        So you're saying we should CRISPR in some pigeon magnetic direction finding genes to the jumping beans so that they have more choice in their shade-finding strategy?
        • TeMPOraL 4y ago
          Perhaps, but even in genetics, there is no free lunch - all that hardware you CRISPR into the larva inside the bean will need energy and material to be constructed and operated. Those resources will come at the expense of something else. It might damage another vital system, or just compete with everything else for fixed metabolic output. Ultimately, it may turn out that natural selection will remove your "upgrades" simply because metabolic load makes the organism statistically less likely to survive long enough to procreate. Turns out - it's something I hear is particularly apparent in bacteria and viruses - natural selection likes simplicity too :). Takeaway being, it's easy to splice in arbitrary genes these days - but it's hard to make it an actual improvement.
• mytailorisrich 4y ago
  If you have no idea where to go then a straight direction is likely not optimal as it is literally hit or miss with a high probability of miss if shade is sparse.
• ballenf 4y ago
  This is addressed in the paper. They say a straight line is faster, but much lower odds of success. Overall a worse strategy for survival.
• tom-thistime 4y ago
  They're not saying it's the best strategy. It's obviously not the best strategy. The bug can't see anything in there.