Article

Generation time as optimal stopping time

2026-07-03

Abstract excerpt

The timing of peak reproductive effort is a central problem in life-history theory, yet a simple first-principles target for that timing relative to lifespan has been missing. We propose that generation time is an optimal stopping time. Under the 1/e-law of best choice, the unique strategy that guarantees the highest minimum probability of selecting a superior option is to wait until a cumulative fraction 1/e of o...

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Literature Corpus work: fa274f8c-0598-545d-94ff-8768b262de24
DOI: 10.64898/2026.06.30.733937

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