False dichotomy (black-or-white fallacy)

Biological Parallel

Desert annual plants don't choose between 'germinate now' or 'wait for better conditions'—they hedge their bets. A single parent produces seeds with varying dormancy periods, some sprouting immediately, others waiting months or years. This bet-hedging strategy recognizes that binary choices are evolutionary traps in unpredictable environments. When decision-makers frame choices as either/or, they ignore biology's lesson: survival often depends on maintaining multiple options simultaneously.