Comment on What is the evolutionary benefit of loving a pet so much you melt into a puddle when they are around?

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AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

Beneficial mutations are random, but the odds of them persisting are proportional to the frequency of the events in which they affect our fitness. And the proportion of stressful events in which pets were available would have been only a fraction of the total number of stressful events our ancestors experienced.

If pets are available for 10% of the stressful events we experience, the selection pressure for stress reduction that doesn’t require pets would be ten times greater.

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