A central puzzle in evolutionary biology is that of spontaneous altruism. When two creatures interact, why might one sacrifice something of value in order to help the other? Why, if I’m rich, might I want to help the poor? In one view of the problem, there’s no good reason for it. By giving, I become poorer. Why would I want that? Naturally, there’s another view — one which takes advantage of the ergodicity concept — which says it’s not so much about zero-sum giving and receiving ...
