Kevin Simler

What are you especially sensitive to, the way the princess was sensitive to the pea?

Tacit appeals to or reliance on natural teleology.

E.g.?

Oh boy...thread time (sorry). It's fairly widespread in folk (and even some academic) evolutionary theorizing. We're inveterate intentionalizers. One example that sticks with me is that of wild guppies.

Male guppies have evolved small orange spots on their flanks that resemble cabrehash fruits, which guppies highly prize. Females are thus pre-wired to approach objects of similar size, shape, and color. So they males with these spots get a reproductive advantage.

And as it turns out, the females do too, for the pigment used to make these spots is derived from the fruit itself and absorption of this pigment is impeded by intestinal parasites. So the males with the brightest spots also turn out to be healthier.

Now, a common question among those who study animal communication is whether a given signal is honest. Much work on sexual selection proceeds on the assumption that signals of mate quality tend to be driven to honesty due to the choosing sex's greater reproductive stake.