:crazy1:
20 grandchildren? Thats a lot of overhead for current times. To be dependant on so many for survival means your pretty weak. Altruism? Which animial out there supports 20 offspring for there entire life? Even penguins and lovebirds draw the line after a year. Definitely not the king of the jungle? The most adept and efficient animals are solo, even the herd species factor out the weak.
To answer your question, one must first ask; How does this scenairo work in nature and why should it be any different than a squirrel crossing the road? Because we're human and above all? Think about this logically not emotionally, it's the same scenario and dosent matter how we feel at this point, our feelings would not have changed what just occured or the natural order of things. Nature dosent feel sorry for itself, it evolves. Would being faster have changed this? Perhaps, how does one become faster? Fight nature or live within it.
It's all related to the original topic when you think about it.
I am not looking at any of this emotionally and you never answered your feelings about your dead child.
You seemed confused about the whole fitness issue by stating that having 20 grandchildren would be an issue. You have it backwards and you are applying anthropogenic factors to nature such as financial obligations to raising a child. If I make enough to support my children and theirs why wouldn't I have that many? If your family and mine were two active breeding populations you would lose out when my children reproduced and your child was dead on the road. Because you believe that you should stop at one kid your game is over. Your genes are no longer influencing the breeding population. Doesn't make much sense to put your entire future on one kid does it? On the flip side you could get killed by the bus and as long as your kid reproduced you are fine. There will always be more individuals produced than can breed. Think about the percentage of fish that reproduce compared to the whole population.
As far as other another animal that is closer to us as that could have 20 grandchildren in nature the elephant would be a good example. Cows start breeding around 14 years old and can continue into their 50s. If you take the 22 month pregnancy and two years of care, a cow could produce 10 calves in her life time or one calf every four years. Of those 10 you could remove one during a pregnancy, usually the first, and maybe two more before they mature leaving seven. If this cow delivered at 18 then by the time she is 36 she could be a grandmother. Bulls start breeding in their early 30s and can go 15 "“ 25 years. That bull would produce a majority of the offspring within the herd except when a younger satellite male waited for the breeding bull and a challenger to fight and he would sneak off to find the cow in heat. In 20 years the number of his offspring could be huge and the original cow's fitness would be high.
As far as altruism and your thoughts concerning individuals vs. group dynamics, it could be argued that the social animals are more successful than the individuals. Think about the most intelligent animals including humans, chimps and the great apes, whales and dolphins, and elephants, and what common characteristic do we all share? We are all social animals and we are all successful. Safety in numbers and greater ability to hunt are two reasons.
Back to the two of us and the getting hit situation, I would relate that to kinship. I would save my child either by pulling him or her out of the way or taking the hit. I may die but if they lived and had children of their own and your one was hit and killed I would win.
As far as your squirrel, the ones that have the advantageous genotype during the specific time would be the ones breeding. If you had a forest and one group of better climbers than another they would continue to breed but if we put in a road and the climbers were slow runners and both groups had to cross the road for food which one would win then? How would the population composition look after 50 generations?
Finally this whole human chaos vs. natural harmony ideas of yours is off too. Animals don't keep score and stop when their quotes have been met. Nature is about chaos and balance, and episodic and periodic disturbances. Fire ecology?
Sorry Vitz for going around the world on this simple discussion but it is more interesting than a yes and no poll.
