Figure 3

Graphical proof for the failure of the majority principle. The symbolic icons used to illustrate fates are summarized in Figure 2. A natural way of arriving at the collective fate would be to look for majorities of some sort. For the example in this figure, for a majority of lineages, h(omeostasis) is more feasible than d(epletion) and d more feasible than e(xpansion) - encircled in the top-left table. A rational conclusion, relying on transitivity would be to infer that therefore h is also more feasible than e. This conclusion does however contradict a majority of cell lineages for which e is more feasible than h - marked in the bottom-right table. The idea to aggregate cell fates by some sort of majority principle thus leads to inconsistencies.