Comment by spacecowboy76 on An Alien God · 2009-09-29T14:10:28.866Z · LW · GW

Sorry, but I disagree. There is an evolution fairy. There are billions of them. What guides the course of evolution among more developed species are the species themselves, aka evolution fairies or the intelligence inherent in all living things. I like to call it survival of the sexiest.

A snake with rattles is more likely to survive and prosper than one without it and this makes him "sexier" to the other females. They consciously decide that they want some of that (although they may not know exactly what That is) and flock to him. This is what keeps the rattle-construction genes afloat.