I would go as far as to say we must fluctuate between these conditions, or at the very least there is always a predominance for thinkers in certain respects/aspects. If thinkers didn't have a place on an evolutionary scale where would we be technologically?
I would love to hear the professors thoughts on that. My guess is there must be a deviation (or middle grounds) where seeing/seeking does not interfere with "fitness payoffs".
If trials were run with different types of people, my guess is there is somewhat of a sliding scale between functional and non-functional. Look at someone like Kim Peek, a mega savant with a memory capacity that was purely mind blowing, but needed to be cared for with things that many of us consider simple basic functions.
I guess some missing info here might be the fact that organisms with a high fitness capability are (in general terms) going to capitalize on the deviations of organisms with low fitness capabilities.
What a thought provoking topic!
I've never personally seen a cat die from its own curiosity. Great point lol. 😂
Thank you for pushing my brain a little further on this concept! 🙂 And for the (related musings) link, I will definitely check that out!