Brandolini's Law (Bullshit Asymmetry)

Biological Parallel

Biology is full of asymmetric costs where producing harm is cheap but countering it is expensive—Brandolini's Law writ in evolutionary dynamics. Batesian mimics evolve deceptive resemblance to dangerous species at minimal cost: a hoverfly needs only superficial wasp-like coloring. But predators pay dearly to learn the distinction, sampling many individuals before distinguishing models from mimics. The mimic invests once; the predator population invests repeatedly. Invasive species demonstrate the asymmetry at ecosystem scale. Brown tree snakes reached Guam accidentally in the 1940s and extirpated 10 of 12 native bird species within decades. The damage was cheap—snakes eat, breed, spread. Restoration would cost many times the original land value per acre, if it's possible at all. Ecosystem damage is entropic and fast; restoration is anti-entropic and slow. Fork-tailed drongos weaponize the asymmetry through deceptive alarm calls. Producing a false alarm costs the drongo mere seconds and a few calories. But receivers—meerkats, babblers, starlings—must flee, abandoning food and expending energy on false alerts. The drongo steals the food left behind. Alarm verification requires repeated sampling across multiple signals, but alarm production requires just breath. At the molecular level, the asymmetry persists: oxidative damage accumulates in cells constantly from normal metabolism, while DNA repair mechanisms require energy-intensive enzymatic machinery working continuously to counter the damage. One reactive oxygen molecule causes harm instantly; repair enzymes must locate, excise, and replace damaged bases through multi-step pathways. The pattern is universal: destructive processes are often thermodynamically favored or require minimal coordination, while repair processes fight entropy and require complex, coordinated systems. Bullshit follows the path of least resistance; refutation climbs uphill.