> I'm approaching the tautological thought that organisms are by definition perfect for their ecological niche because if they weren't, they would be something else
Meditate on what a simple hill-climbing algorithm does when it finds a tiny foothill right below a major peak.
> Random fun trivia: dogs do synthesize vitamin C.
From Wikipedia:
"It is made internally by almost all organisms although notable mammalian group exceptions are most or all of the order chiroptera (bats), guinea pigs, capybaras, and one of the two major primate suborders, the Anthropoidea (Haplorrhini) (tarsiers, monkeys and apes, including human beings)."
That's one reason guinea pigs are used as, well, guinea pigs.
Late response, but yes, the article mentioned local maxima.
But I think it's hubris to think we could do a LOT better.
The human body is a gigantic "engineering" effort involving a vast number of trade-offs and compromises.
Meditate on what a simple hill-climbing algorithm does when it finds a tiny foothill right below a major peak.
> Random fun trivia: dogs do synthesize vitamin C.
From Wikipedia:
"It is made internally by almost all organisms although notable mammalian group exceptions are most or all of the order chiroptera (bats), guinea pigs, capybaras, and one of the two major primate suborders, the Anthropoidea (Haplorrhini) (tarsiers, monkeys and apes, including human beings)."
That's one reason guinea pigs are used as, well, guinea pigs.