It is conventionally thought that proteins emerged under pressure for greater functionality and efficiency of living systems. Given the data on amyloid formation (and the avoidance thereof), however, one is led to believe that aggregation avoidance may have been just as strong of a driving force. This is supported by the rate at which proteins fold. Many are found to fold at rates near to the limits imposed by the physical constraints on all molecules. Quick folding would minimize time in intermediary conformations, which would minimize the competing intermolecular processes of aggregation.