[lunar11 (OP)]

This was once mentioned to me and a (so it seemed) genuine reason was given to me.

I would just like to know what people think before I elaborate.

[CliffordK]

I suppose the eat or be eaten idea is quite prevalent with animal/insect life.  Although, plants have perhaps other adaptations.

Of course, your pacman never reproduces.

You had also asked about exoplanets.  Undoubtedly some day we will choose to send missions to nearby exoplanets (manned, unmanned, or some kind of seed ships), but the spread of any race from one planet to a planet in another stellar system will necessarily be slow.

[lunar11 (OP)]

The point about pacman that was mentioned to me is that the pacman is running aound the maze eating tablets and avoiding the ghosts. This causes one to feel stressed. However if one becomes trapped and there is no escape, the 'fight or flight' factor arises; note that that when in such a situation when there is no escape the player feels relaxed and the fear of defeat is no longer evident.

I wonder if this actually happens in life, where if a person knows they are certain to die in seconds, then relaxation creeps in.