Break-even effect

Biological Parallel

Injured predators escalate risk-taking to recoup hunting losses—a wounded lion makes increasingly desperate attacks to avoid starvation. The break-even point represents return to baseline fitness; organisms intensify effort and risk as they approach it from below. Gamblers chasing losses show identical biology: losses create a fitness deficit, and evolution wired us to take asymmetric risks to close that gap. The break-even effect isn't degeneracy—it's the desperation response that kept injured, depleted ancestors alive.