It’s actually a common misconception that biological systems should have mechanisms that allow a certain number of mutations for the purpose of accruing beneficial adaptations. From an evolutionary perspective, all genes should favor the highest possible fidelity copies. Any genes that have any lower copying fidelity will necessarily have fewer copies in future generations and thus lose the evolutionary game to a gene with higher copying fidelity.
Remember, folks, evolution doesn’t work for the good of the species, and there’s no Evolution Fairy who tries to ensure its own continued freedom of action. It’s just a statistical property of some genes winning out over others.
A comment from Shtetl-Optimized discussion:
It’s actually a common misconception that biological systems should have mechanisms that allow a certain number of mutations for the purpose of accruing beneficial adaptations. From an evolutionary perspective, all genes should favor the highest possible fidelity copies. Any genes that have any lower copying fidelity will necessarily have fewer copies in future generations and thus lose the evolutionary game to a gene with higher copying fidelity.
Remember, folks, evolution doesn’t work for the good of the species, and there’s no Evolution Fairy who tries to ensure its own continued freedom of action. It’s just a statistical property of some genes winning out over others.