ABSTRACT
Optimization is a fundamental principle in biology. Aristotle once stated: “If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature’s way” [31]. Darwin’s theory of natural selection provided an obvious mechanism for optimization in biology: more optimized individuals are more likely to survive. After many rounds of natural selection, a species is optimally adapted to the environment in which it evolved. Optimality is thus absolutely necessary for the survival of a species — it is not something luxurious for making one’s life sweeter. The optimality principle may allow scientists to predict how organisms should be organized, besides merely to describe patterns or mechanisms.
