A Great Philosophical Question Answered!

One of the most intriguing philosophical questions of all time, an issue which has occupied the thoughts of of philosophers from Aristotle to Comicus to Marx, has been answered.

But before we get to that, let's say a few words about Comicus.

Comicus was the stand-up philosopher played by Mel Brooks in his movie, History of the World, Part 1. This film contains one of my all-time favorite exchanges, between Comicus and a clerk at the unemployment office played by Beatrice Arthur:

Unemployment Office Clerk: "Occupation?"

Comicus: "Stand-up philosopher."

Clerk: "What?"

Comicus: "Stand-up philosopher. I coalesce the vapors of human experience into a viable and meaningful comprehension."

Clerk: "Oh, a bullshit artist."

Comicus: "Grumble..."

Clerk: "Did you bullshit last week?"

Comicus: "No."

Clerk: "Did you try to bullshit last week?"

Comicus: "Yes!"

That Comicus, he's my kind of guy.

Anyhow, back to Great Questions of the Universe: we now know the answer to the classic conundrum - "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" You can read the full, amazing story here.

According to a scientific paper titled, "Structural Control of Crystal Nuclei by an Eggshell Protein," the answer is (drum roll, please) - the chicken.

The official answer has to do with eggshell proteins and dinosaurs and the use of a supercomputer in Edinburgh, Scotland, all of which seems quite a bit of trouble and expense to go through to answer such an arcane philosophical question, but hey, if you're going to be a bullshit artist, you might as well be able to do it with the entire gravitas of the scientific community behind you.

In the last analysis, though, it doesn't really matter which came first as long as both are available at your local Piggly Wiggly when you're assembling the ingredients for your favorite recipe.

I wonder if that supercomputer can crunch a few more numbers and answer a really important question...like, for instance, whether or not there's any good way to differentiate between Republican Stand-Up Philosophy and Democratic Stand-Up Philosophy. It's hard for most of us to tell the difference.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday rides to your rescue from the insanity of the week.

Bilbo