Equation 1 · Part 2 · Why We Punish Strangers: The Evolution of Human Cooperation
Symbol b
What this part means
the fitness benefit the recipient gains.
Its job in the formula
b is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
Full expression→Symbol b→Article meaning
Where the article explains it
Here r is the coefficient of relatedness between the actor and the recipient, b is the fitness benefit the recipient gains, and c is the fitness cost the actor pays.
The passage around this formula
…of social behaviour gave altruism toward kin a precise condition under which natural selection favors it [ 1 ] : . Here r is the coefficient of relatedness between the actor and the recipient, b is the fitness benefit the recipient gains, and c is the fitness cost the actor pays. A gene that disposes its carrier to help a relative will spread whenever the benefit to the recipient, discounted by how likely the recipient is to carry a copy of the same gene, exceeds the cost to the helper.…
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A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.
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Sources cited in the surrounding passage
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