Citation
Selforganization of matter and the evolution of biological macromolecules
TL;DR
Introduced concept of 'error threshold' in evolution
Eigen's foundational work introduced the concept of the 'error threshold' - the highest mutation rate a population can sustain without fitness collapsing into 'mutational meltdown.' This theoretical framework explains why RNA viruses can sustain extremely high mutation rates (they operate near the error threshold) while most organisms cannot.
The concept is central to the chapter's analysis of Quibi's failure as organizational mutational meltdown - generating massive variation without selection to filter bad ideas leads to value destruction, analogous to exceeding the biological error threshold.
Key Findings from Eigen (1971)
- Introduced concept of 'error threshold' in evolution
- Defined maximum mutation rate sustainable without fitness collapse
- RNA viruses operate near this threshold
- Exceeding threshold leads to mutational meltdown
- Optimal mutation rate maximizes evolvability while avoiding meltdown