Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
You may want to come up with, or even post an answer before reading on.
In fact, there are definite answers to be had, after some clarification. The term chicken is biologically unambiguous. We all understand what a chicken is like. On the other hand, the term egg is somewhat more general and is therefore a possible source of ambiguity. Is what is meant just any egg, or a chicken egg? And if we are talking about a chicken egg, then is a chicken an egg laid by a chicken, an egg containing a chicken, or both? Reformulating the question to reflect each possible meaning of egg leads to four distinct versions of the chicken-or-egg question. Which came first, the chicken or (just any old) egg? Which came first, the chicken or an egg laid by a chicken? Which came first, the chicken or an egg containing a chicken? Which came first, the chicken, or an egg laid by and containing a chicken? The answers are: the egg, the chicken, the egg, the chicken. Given some knowledge of logic and biology, these answers are not hard to verify.
Next time someone attempts to use this question as an example of an unanswerable question, you will readily have the answer.
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8 comments:
HaHa that is so random, but I liked it!
You’ve spent so much time overanalyzing the terms you neglect to answer the simple tautology part of the question. It isn’t about what kind of egg or what stage of chicken. You are supposed to look deeply into: if the egg came first, was there a chicken to lay it. OR if the Chicken came first did it hatch from an egg?
Here are your answers to the questions:
Which came first, the chicken or (just any old) egg? the egg
Which came first, the chicken or an egg laid by a chicken? the chicken
Which came first, the chicken or an egg containing a chicken? the egg
Which came first, the chicken, or an egg laid by and containing a chicken? the chicken
The natural response to all of these questions will evoke all creation stories from Christianity to the Native Americans. According to most creation stories all the animals were created first, not the means by which they are born. Nullifying answers 1 and 3.
The age old question is not a riddle seeking answer, but a natural question into how creationa actual came about.
Wow Lyssa has a good point.
How about this one: the egg came first because reptiles were laying eggs long before chickens ever existed on this planet.
However, new question: Which came first: the dinosaur or the egg? hahaha
i think it's a waste of time to even worry about it - they are so many varying opinions anyway and no one will ever have an actual answer so why ask an unanswerable question.
The comments on this one are just as good as the post. But I try not to find myself answering these questions. Wer are hear and we are hungry. I eat a lot of chicken and my share of eggs. My answer is, breakfast comes first so the egg comes first.
re:Jean Marie
A odd response, as the major point I made in my post was that by dealing with the question pragmatically, actual answers can be had.
re:lyssa
I have, after all, given the solution to which order the egg and chicken originated. I have shown that the question you say I am "supposed" to look deeply into is a mistaken one that arises out of semantic ambiguity. All in all, we should say something such as: an egg came first, but there was not a chicken to lay it.
-edited
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