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in reply to Which came first?

Okay, I'll bite.

(Let me just put on my helmet here...)

Are there really creationists on perlmonks?

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: Which came first?
by TimButterfield (Monk) on May 05, 2008 at 21:36 UTC

    Yes. I am a creationist. Still, believing in creation does not preclude the possibility that what was first created were more generic bird(s) and not the chicken as we know it today. If dogs, cats, horses, and squirrels can specialize to an environment, either naturally or through the intervention of humans, why could not birds specialize also, resulting in the variations of birds and chickens we currently have?

    But, even with specialization/mutation over time being a given, that does not answer the chicken vs (chicken) egg issue. However, that question is similar to this: which came first, the thoroughbred horse or the thoroughbred horse foal? I propose that until there is a sufficient quantity of the latter growing to maturity, the former cannot be categorized. So, applying this to the chicken/egg issue, until enough eggs hatched which grew to produce the combination of characteristics we now label as chicken (instead of junglefowl), there were more of the former than the latter.

    Summary points:

    • The egg with the specific set of genetic characteristics preceded the grown set of birds which received the (new) label for that specific set of genetic charactistics.
    • If only one of something is present, it is a mutation and not yet a species/genus variation.
    • Unless there are a sufficient number of the mutation and that mutation can reproduce, it is not yet a species/genus variation.
    • The specialized offspring exists first, though without the label for that specialization.

    Update: Added last bullet point for clarification.

Re^2: Which came first?
by Limbic~Region (Chancellor) on May 05, 2008 at 20:10 UTC