Reply to comment

When we looked at the frog hop towards the mealworm, its landing distance and location were different for each trial. We attributed this difference as a type of variability in the frog’s nervous system. I, however, saw it as an imperfection. The motor pattern controlling the frog’s jump changes for each trial. It cannot possibly land in the exact same place every time because different patterns of neuron activity only get it to roughly the same place. In this case, changing the pattern of activity each time is a waste of energy because the frog isn’t benefiting from this variability. The frog uses energy not only to hop but to change its motor pattern. The poor frog should get lazy and start hopping a shorter distance. It is burning energy only to hop a distance father away from the food than the last time. Perhaps, variability may sometimes be an imperfect of the nervous system?