(Verse 1) The ghost has left the engine, the mind is swept away We’re looking at the landscape and the roles we have to play It isn’t in the motive or the secrets of the soul It’s the pressure of the circuit that is taking full control The operant is moving through the shadows of the night Guided by the consequences, seeking out the light. (Chorus) It’s selection by the outcome, it’s the pruning of the vine From the history of the species to the individual line A strategy is stable when it’s balanced on the edge The reinforcement follows like a hammer to the wedge We’re matching every motion to the payoff in the hand The logic of the animal across a shifting land. (Verse 2) The hawk is in the meadow and the dove is in the trees They’re calculating fitness on a cold and bitter breeze No need for conscious planning or a meeting of the wise The population settles where the benefit will rise If the mutant finds a pocket where the energy is high The old ways start to wither and the old traditions die. (Chorus) It’s selection by the outcome, it’s the pruning of the vine From the history of the species to the individual line A strategy is stable when it’s balanced on the edge The reinforcement follows like a hammer to the wedge We’re matching every motion to the payoff in the hand The logic of the animal across a shifting land. (Verse 3) A lever in a chamber or a forage in the wood The schedule of the planet makes it clearly understood The variable ratio will keep the fire hot We’re chasing after shadows for the little that we got The ontogenic journey is a mirror of the past Building up a repertoire that’s ever meant to last. (Chorus) It’s selection by the outcome, it’s the pruning of the vine From the history of the species to the individual line A strategy is stable when it’s balanced on the edge The reinforcement follows like a hammer to the wedge We’re matching every motion to the payoff in the hand The logic of the animal across a shifting land. (Verse 4) The ESS is holding while the environment is still It looks like iron purpose or a triumph of the will But it’s just the math of survival and the way the numbers fall A steady state of living that is common to us all The matching law is pulling at the strings of our desire Allocating pulses to the heat of every fire. (Chorus) It’s selection by the outcome, it’s the pruning of the vine From the history of the species to the individual line A strategy is stable when it’s balanced on the edge The reinforcement follows like a hammer to the wedge We’re matching every motion to the payoff in the hand The logic of the animal across a shifting land. (Verse 5) So strip away the "inner" and the "mental" and the "why" And watch the way the organism learns before it dies From the genes within the marrow to the habits of the day Selection is the master of the parts we have to play The game is always changing but the rules remain the same Consequences are the only thing that give the world a name. (Chorus) It’s selection by the outcome, it’s the pruning of the vine From the history of the species to the individual line A strategy is stable when it’s balanced on the edge The reinforcement follows like a hammer to the wedge We’re matching every motion to the payoff in the hand The logic of the animal across a shifting land.
