So 'noticing the fox' signals that the rabbit notices the fox and will run when it sees the fox beginning to chase. The fox uses the signal thus: "If the rabbit notices me it gets a headstart. With such a head start, and the fact that the rabbit runs at a certain minimum speed, I would not be able to catch it".
Even though the reliability of the signal is independent of the running, its effectiveness/usefulness depends on the rabbit's speed.
Once we have the free riding rabbits placing resources into noticing and away from running, foxes will realize this, and they will chase even when they have been noticed. So now noticing does not prevent the fox from chasing anymore, so there is less pressure on even fast rabbits to signal it.
And then the signaling collapses?
I admit to being quite confused over this. Waiting for someone to clear it all up!
Once we have the free riding rabbits placing resources into noticing and away from running
Placing emphasis on 'noticing vs running' is just confusing you. Noticing helps the rabbit run just as much as it helps it look in the right direction.
And then the signaling collapses?
No. Silas was just wrong. If average rabbit speed become slower then there will be a commensurate change in the threshold at which foxes chase rabbits even when they have been spotted. It will remain useful to show the fox that it has been spotted in all cases in which about 200ms...
Sweet, there's another Bloggingheads episode with Eliezer.
Bloggingheads: Robert Wright and Eliezer Yudkowsky: Science Saturday: Purposes and Futures