Not entirely. I think competition may have had a role in the development and evolution of our brains, but if you look at every field, some people just do things for their own enjoyment and still excel regardless of competition. Einstein was not in competition, but came up with the theory of relativity just pursuing what he loved to do. Many artists who loved what they did were never recognized in their lifetimes for the great art they produced. These people still excelled.

When ti comes to other areas liek athletics, or business, compeition may force a prson to push harder. However, Mark Zuckenberg, was nto tryighn to create a milti-billlion dollar business when he first created Facebook, but just was trying to create something cool that people would like. He never imagined the level of success he'd achieve.

In the early 1980's Compaq actully had the best computer system, but they did have enough software written to support it, so competition drove them out of the PC market, and so the best PC design lost.

Competition often inhibits innovation, as companies buy innovative patents, not to use them devlop them or incorporate those innovations into their own products, but to buy them into obscurity, because competition isn't about what is bet for consumers, but about what is best for profits... in the next quarter.

Three movies that generally demonstrate my points are
"Tucker: The Man and his Dream"
"The First Monday In October" and
"Who Killed The Electric Car."
The first one is based on a true story. The second is just a story, but it makes a point, and th ethird is a documentary.

Yes it doe's! One can find no examples of competitive innovation under dictators particularly the Communist dictators.Just the sterility of dead State approved art conformity and regression to a lower and pathetically poor way of life.The free world with all its faults and foibles is much better at creativity and not to mention its constant rough and tumble of free debate and discussion.Why do you think artists wish to escape from the despotism of the dictators.....

I would guess that survival causes humans to excel. The more excellent we are at surviving, the better our lives are. Competition is just the process by which we excel at surviving, no?

I think that wanting to excel is way more complex than simply trying to compete. Some wish to excel in order to get the aclaim, others to get the self satisfaction of personal achievement. There are as many reasons as there are people.

Dunno. Does competition need a license for that?

No.That would be the desire for their kids to live forever.