what came first the chicken or the egg?

Answer 1

some dinosaurs laid eggs, therefore the egg came first

Answer 2

The question is famous but paradoxical; once multi-cellular life was underway, evolution eventually favoured genetic pathways which led to the reproductive material (the DNA) being cocooned into 'external' packages or eggs, and please bear in mind, fish produce eggs as do lots of other creatures, so the question could also be framed 'which first...the fish or the egg'.

Evolution takes place over millions of years and it's not like all of a sudden there was a chicken, fully formed, or indeed that one day an egg was produced and there had never been none before. There is a causal chain of events which led to both the formation of chickens and eggs and each step, and the real answer is DNA came first, at least as far as the chicken and egg are concerned.

This of course leads to the most perplexing 'chicken & egg' question in science today....which came first DNA or RNA as neither does much without the other!!!!

Answer 3

The chicken or the egg is a reference to the causality dilemma which arises from the expression "which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Since both the chicken and the egg create the other in certain circumstances (a chicken emerges from an egg; an egg is laid by a chicken) it is ambiguous which originally gave rise to the other. Purely logical attempts to resolve the dilemma result in an infinite regress, since an egg was caused by a chicken, which was caused by an egg, etc. Since every chicken originates from its egg, it seems obvious the egg came first. Put simply, the reason is down to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animal's life. The solution may require an examination of syntax and may rely on verification from advances in modern genetic science. When used in reference to difficult problems of causality, the chicken and egg dilemma is often used to appeal to the futility of debate and lay it to rest.

History of the problem

The earliest reference to the dilemma is found in Plutarch's Moralia, in the books titled "Table Talk," in a series of arguments based on questions posed in a symposium. Under the section entitled, "Whether the hen or the egg came first," the discussion is introduced in such a way as to suggest that the origin of the dilemma was even older:

"...the problem about the egg and the hen, which of them came first, was dragged into our talk, a difficult problem which gives investigators much trouble. And Sulla my comrade said that with a small problem, as with a tool, we were rocking loose a great and heavy one, that of the creation of the world..."

Various answers have been formulated in response to the question, many of them humorous.

Answer 4

The egg because the egg was around with the dinosaurs and the chicken came later so over time a creature was laying eggs and what came out of them eventually became a chicken

Answer 5

Since I believe that I have an answer for everything... I'm going to say the egg came first. Here is my story...

The chicken is a product of two extinct animals that mated in an attempt to preserve the future of their species. When the egg was released from the mother animal, she wanted to protect the fragile egg from all harm, so she hid it under her own body fat. When the egg was well developed, it cracked and out came the world's first chicken.

Answer 6

No, no, no... It is the Chicken. Why? because all life began as chemical mixtures. Something sparked a reaction, and life stirred for the very first time. Result? an unknown but life bearing creature. Now, this creature was obviously extremely primitive, but it was alive. And from this very first creature descended even more life. Albeit in slightly different forms. So we have a creature, not an egg in the first instance. One that evolved, and slowly but surely changed into a chicken. All so we can enjoy a nice salad on a Friday night.

Answer 7

I saw something about this in the paper. The chicken would have evolved from a chicken-like creature, and the egg would have been a slight mutation of its parents....so the egg came first.

I don't think I've explained it very well.

Answer 8

Egg came first. Over time, different creatures evolved and laid eggs that were more and more chicken-like. The first real chicken was the child of two chicken-like creatures.

Answer 9

i would of said the chicken but all the evidence has proved that wrong in the past few years. i mean how could a chicken pop up from nowhere. it has to be the egg if you think about it.
deffo the egg

Answer 10

The eggs

Chicken are less than 65million years old - Egg laying reptiles are a lot older hence the egg came before the chicken

Answer 11

In a restaurant the egg comes first