Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

Ah, the age old question, debated by many.

Image by Briardo L for Sketching Science

In this illustration by Briardo L. for Sketching Science, we see this question from an evolutionary point of view.

It is accepted that birds evolved from dinosaurs, who laid eggs. Therefore, from an evolutionary standpoint, it is safe to assume that the egg came first.

If we look at the same question from a creationist perspective, the answer is a bit different.

In the creation story in the Bible, God created Adam and Eve. We assume that Adam and Eve were adults when they were created. I would also say it’s safe to assume that all the animals were created as adults.

An adult chicken is a chicken, not an egg. Adam and Eve were created as adults, not as foetuses or babies.

Therefore, from an evolutionary standpoint, the egg came first. From a creationist standpoint, the chicken came first.

You're welcome.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

What About Lucille's Side of the Story?

I’m 99% convinced that every person on this planet with functioning ears knows the song Lucille written by Joe Turner and performed by the country legend that is Kenny Rogers.

Before we explore the topic any further, I am a very big fan of Kenny Rogers and I love his music. There is no reason why I can’t like a song and dissect it in the same breath.

Just to refresh your memory, here are the lyrics:

In a bar in Toledo across from the depot

On a barstool, she took off her ring I thought I'd get closer so I walked on over I sat down and asked her name When the drinks finally hit her she said "I'm no quitter But I finally quit livin' on dreams I'm hungry for laughter and here ever after I'm after whatever the other life brings" In the mirror, I saw him and I closely watched him I thought how he looked out of place He came to the woman who sat there beside me He had a strange look on his face The big hands were calloused, he looked like a mountain For a minute I thought I was dead But he started shaking, his big heart was breaking He turned to the woman and said
With four hungry children and a crop in the field
I've had some bad times, lived through some sad times
But this time your hurting won't heal
You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille"
I thought how she'd made him look small
From the lights of the barroom
To a rented hotel room
We walked without talking at all
She was a beauty but when she came to me
She must have thought I'd lost my mind
I couldn't hold her 'cause the words that he told her
Kept coming back time after time
With four hungry children and a crop in the field
I've had some bad times, lived through some sad times
But this time your hurting won't heal
You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille
With four hungry children and a crop in the field
I've had some bad times, lived through some sad times
But this time your hurting won't heal
You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille"
But I finally quit livin' on dreams
I'm after whatever the other life brings"
With four hungry children and a crop in the field
But this time your hurting won't heal
Kept coming back time after time

"You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille

After he left us, I ordered more whiskey

"You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille

You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille

And a YouTube link 

Interesting how everyone feels bad for the guy who looked like a mountain, who shall hence forth be known as Mountain-dude. Very sad. Poor fella. My heart bleeds for you.

Has anyone ever thought about Lucille and why she left his sorry ass?

When the drinks finally hit her she said "I'm no quitter

But I finally quit livin' on dreams

You don’t know what those dreams were that kept her going for so long. Those dreams could be anything. Dreaming that he would change. Dreaming that he would keep his promises next time. Perhaps next time he would really mean his apology and stop treating her like a punching bag. Maybe the next time he promised never to hit her again or treat her like shit he would actually keep his promise. Maybe the next time she had to flee in the middle of the night to find safety and he convinced her to come back he would mean the things he said to convince her to come back.

I'm hungry for laughter and here ever after

I'm after whatever the other life brings"

Whatever the other life is, it can only be better. Who knows when was the last time she laughed? Who knows when was the last time she could let her guard down or have a conversation with a friend without being accused of all kinds of wrongs? She was at home, taking care of his kids and trying to keep the household afloat while he was doing who-knows-what with God-knows-who. And accusing her of whatever extra-curricular activities he was up to.

Perhaps she can find herself again, begin rebuilding what he broke in her.

He turned to the woman and said

"You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille

With four hungry children and a crop in the field

Again, why did Lucille decide to leave? It doesn’t sound like there would have been a better time to leave. It doesn’t sound like they ever really had better times.

And what would it take to drive a mother to leaving her children behind? Lucille gets painted as a bad mother for leaving the kids. Did you ever consider that maybe Mountain-dude won’t let her take the kids? Maybe he’s threatened to do all kinds of unspeakable things to her if she took his kids away.

For all we know those four hungry children might have four different mothers, none of which is Lucille, she just happens to be Mountain-dude’s latest victim. If those were Lucille’s own children, she probably wouldn’t have left them. Perhaps she was raising other women’s children and loved them enough to raise them as her own. And Mountain-dude is manipulating her with the children and how they need her, all to try and make her stay so he can abuse her some more.

I've had some bad times, lived through some sad times

But this time your hurting won't heal

Again it definitely doesn’t sound like there could have been a better time to leave his abusive, cheating ass. Somehow he manages to play the victim. Of course he has to confront her in the bar where there are lots of people around to hear how bad Lucille is. Luckily this time Lucille stayed strong and got out.

I couldn't hold her 'cause the words that he told her

Kept coming back time after time

Then the narrator goes on to say that he couldn’t accept this broken woman. Hasn’t she been through enough? Mountain-dude knows what he lost and he knows that it’s his own fault. Yet he won’t let her find happiness elsewhere. He has to go and ruin any chance that she might have at being happy.

The scars that Mountain-dude left on Lucille will probably never heal completely. Lucille will most likely be terrified for the rest of her life. She might be afraid that Mountain-dude will hunt her down wherever she goes next. She will most likely be too scared to trust a man again.

Lucille is now a statistic. 1 in 4 South African women fall victim to domestic abuse. That’s 25%!

This Lucille got out. This Lucille is one of the lucky ones. In most cases when Lucille does manage to get out the abuse gets even worse. The Mountain-dude threatens her, stalks her, attacks her. A lot of the Lucilles out there end up getting maimed or murdered by their Mountain-dudes.

It’s not easy to get out, but it is possible.

‘Tis the Season for Reflection

It is that time of year again where we should reflect on the past year and plan for the year ahead. We all do it. Most people feel the need around the festive season, and especially New Year’s, to think back on the past year and plan for the year ahead. New Year’s Resolutions, anyone?

Why do we do this? We know it’s going to fail. We know that we are most likely not going to stick to our new year’s resolutions and give ourselves yet another reason to feel like a failure. Do you enjoy feeling like a failure? I most definitely don’t.

Yet we keep on doing it.

I believe we are approaching the whole idea incorrectly. If you do this reflection once a year and you give it no thought for the rest of the year, there is no way you can succeed. You are quite simply setting New Year’s resolutions because its tradition, or force of habit. And setting yourself up for failure.

Let’s say you want to grow a pot plant. Fair warning: I’m going to pull this example out of proportion ever so slightly. You take a pot, fill it with soil, plant a seed, and give it water. Then you put it on the window sill and imagine how pretty it’s going to be once it’s a beautiful, lush plant with gorgeous flowers. Then, for the next 364 days you go on with your life and forget about the pot plant. You never water it. Is that pot plant going to grow into the beautiful, lush plant with the gorgeous flowers that you had envisioned?

I sincerely hope that you answered “Of course not!” or at the very least “no.”

A year from now you are going to look at that empty, barren pot and feel like a complete failure. You couldn’t even keep a pot plant alive, you inadequate pot plant murderer!

You wouldn’t expect your pot plant to grow if you paid attention to it once a year… How on earth can you expect your hopes and dreams to grow if you only watered it once every 365 and a quarter days. (Yes, 365 and a quarter, because that’s how many days are in a year. Where did you think leap year came from?)

Now the correct approach would be to regularly water your pot plant, maybe talk to it if that’s your thing… I’ll just water it. Maybe give it some fertiliser once in a while, prune it a little…

New Year’s resolutions are a bad idea. Setting realistic goals on the other hand is a fan-freaking-tastic idea!

Let’s have a look at why we should do this?

Our reflection time is necessary to gauge where we are and determine where we want to go. This is the time we tune our compass to ensure we are still on track and don’t wake up one morning, middle aged, unaccomplished, fat, ugly, and dissatisfied with life and living with seven fat, ugly, lazy cats.

I’m going to start with the past year.

The good:

• I had a fairly good year.
• I got out of a toxic relationship.
• Did fairly good professionally.
• Weeded out my circle of friends and cut out all the toxic people.
• Made some amazing new friends.
• Strengthened bonds with my existing amazing friends.
• Rediscovered and reinvented myself along the way.
• I am truly happy and satisfied with my life.

The bad:

• The toxic ex and his family are still stalking me every opportunity they get.
• I’m not as financially secure as I would like to be.
• I did not get around to all of my business expansions I had planned for the year.

The Ugly:

• I still have a lot of projects I need to finish before 2016 is over. Need to work on that time management thing…

All around, 2016 has been kind to me and I’m happy with how it played out so far.

After reflecting on the past year I can start looking at my goals for the next year. What does my pot plant need to grow into that beautiful, lush plant with the gorgeous flowers that I have in mind?

I can now start setting goals. Not just any goals… SMART goals.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timed

Many people have written many books and articles on the topic of SMART goals. I’m not going to bore you with the details that you already know or can easily find (Google is your friend).

What I do want to mention here is how extremely important it is to reflect and set goals at regular intervals. Check and measure your progress regularly. I recommend a minimum of quarterly. Personally, I review mine monthly. My goals are set up as a checklist. I literally go and tick the ones I’ve attained. Ticking them off makes me feel all accomplished and shit. I’ve made progress.

My pot plant is starting to show little flower buds at this stage, hopefully next year I can report back on some small flowers.