This seems to have some overlap with the proposed "Constructal Law" of thermodynamics that is supposed to explain the natural evolution of 'design' in nature (1, 2). Granted, this concept is not without controvercy, and I'm not 100% sold just yet, but I was curious enough that I bought the 'Design with Constructal Law' text book to see if I can get to the truth of the matter by reviewing the math and perhaps running a few experiments. I'm working on it.

1. https://youtu.be/lLAYHnJVmjE 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2871904/ 3. text book purchase link: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Design+with+Constructal+Theory-p...