{"id":388,"date":"2008-02-18T05:45:48","date_gmt":"2008-02-18T05:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/patberry.net\/wordpress\/?p=388"},"modified":"2020-08-14T14:11:49","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T18:11:49","slug":"oogenesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patberry.net\/wordpress\/?p=388","title":{"rendered":"Oogenesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the latest Dork Tower strip<\/a>, the characters tackle one of the classic stupid questions: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”<\/p>\n

Why do I call it a stupid question? Because it is. Fish, amphibians, and reptiles were laying eggs for millions of years before the first bird appeared on Earth. Obviously, the egg came before the chicken. I don’t understand why anyone thinks this question is remotely challenging.<\/p>\n

Okay, actually, I do. Generally, when people treat this as an insoluble conundrum, their unspoken assumption is that “egg” really means “chicken egg”. So eggs laid by fish and reptiles are excluded. I see no reason to limit the question that way, but fine. Even if we accept that interpretation, answering the question is no problem. It becomes a simple matter of definition. Here’s how I would handle it:<\/p>\n

SILLY PERSON:<\/strong> Which came first, the chicken or the chicken egg?
\nME:<\/strong> Define “chicken egg.”
\nSP:<\/strong> An egg that a chicken hatches out of.
\nME:<\/strong> Okay, by that definition, the very first chicken hatched from a chicken egg. So the egg came first.
\nSP:<\/strong> No, wait! A chicken egg is an egg laid by a chicken.
\nME:<\/strong> All right, then the chicken came first. Obviously.
\nSP:<\/strong> But —
\nME:<\/strong> I think we’re done here. Why don’t you take this amusing quiz<\/a>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
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