Why Are Viral Capsids Icosahedral?

We used to joke in my biophysics grad program that basically everything was determined by its surface area to volume ratio.

> even though evolution is contingent at a local level (such as a specific protein sequence or the shape of a flower), it is remarkably predictable at a global level (such as the very existence of proteins and flowers across many species)

to be fair... flowers are a very recent invention that appeared only after the dinosaurs got wiped out and clean slate allowed co-evolution of flowers and pollinators to occur

>an estimated 70 percent of viral capsids known to date are icosahedral, shaped like tiny soccer balls.

Soccer balls are not icosahedra. The archetypal soccer ball is a truncated icosahedron: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truncated_icosahedron

eh but also organic chemistry only does well 30 and 60 degrees