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The passage around this formula

with a pairing term commonly written $\delta(A) = \begin{cases} +a_P A^{-1/2} & \text{even-even } N,Z \\ 0 & \text{odd } A \\ -a_P A^{-1/2} & \text{odd-odd } N,Z \end{cases}$. Read as a fitness landscape, each term is a distinct cost or bonus of viability rather than an abstract fitting parameter. The volume term, $a_V$ A , is the baseline: every nucleon in the interior feels attraction from its immediate neighbors, so binding energy grows roughly in proportion to the number of nucleons, the way a population’s raw fitness might scale with sheer numbers before any structural penalty is applied. The surface term, -$a_S$ $A^{2/3}$ , subtracts a cost proportional to surface area, because nucleons at the boundary have fewer neighbors to bind to — a tax on being exposed at the edge of the configuration, heaviest for…

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