What came first The Chicken or the Egg? We don’t care, We eat both!! (Anonymous)
Thinking about the musings from Day 173: I Really Thought That I Was Done With Geometry!…
I would submit to you that whether or not you are a current or former student, you will never stop learning. I would further submit to you that as a life-long learner, you may run into information that will lead to much…unlearning.
There is a case to be made that no matter how old or young you are, are whether your are currently in or out of school while you are reading this sentence, one thing cannot be disputed:
We are all life-long learners.
Now, getting students to understand the concept of the importance of being a life-long learner, really was not as difficult as one would think.
All that needed to be done in my class was to ask a simple question:
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
For perhaps as long as this classic question has been asked, the answer always seemed unanswerable.
However, in the 21st century, science has finally found an answer to this unanswerable question.
The chicken came first.
The reason?
Calcite crystals.
(DISCLAIMER: I have no idea what calcite crystals are.)
Or another way of saying the answer:
A protein found in the egg shell that can only be found in a chicken’s ovaries.
(DISCLAIMER: I knew about the protein part.)
In 2015, scientists from Sheffield and Warwick, United Kingdom, discovered a protein named ovocledidin-17, or OC-17. It is the OC-17 that enables the chicken to convert calcium carbonate into calcite crystals, and then produce the eggshell.
In class, after revealing this scientific discovery to my students, I would pose a follow up question:
Now that science proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the chicken, with its protein found in the egg shell, came first, the next obvious question that needs to be asked is:
Who then, created the chicken?
After leaving that follow-up question float around my students for a few seconds, I would then transition into the next content specific topic and leave it at that.
Instead of going back to the current scientific discoveries that have concluded that the chicken did indeed come before the egg, I would like to apply the chicken and egg former conundrum to the visuals that I brought up in:
Day 173: I Really Thought That I Was Done With Geometry!
And:
For all of you life-long learners that are still with me and have gotten this far into this blog post, here is a questions to ask yourself:
Assuming that Isaiah knew the difference between a circle, which is 2-dimensional, and a sphere, which is 3-dimensional, are we to assume that Isaiah knew by default then that the Earth is a circle and not a sphere?
A second question to ask would be this:
Is the Book of Isaiah the only book in the Holy Bible that potentially brings up the shape of the Earth?
I would submit to you that without question, Isaiah knew the difference between a circle and a ball. Think about how old you were when you first discovered the difference between a 2 dimensional circle and a 3 dimensional sphere….
How old were you when you figured out the difference between a circle and a sphere?
Why would someone assume that Isaiah wouldn’t be able to learn the differences between a circle and a ball during his lifetime, at about the same age as you discovered these differences in your lifetime?
Because he didn’t have access to the internet?
Be careful…you don’t want to be guilty of imposing Presentism on Isaiah…do you?
If you are not familiar with what Presentism is or you are but you need a quick refresher, please refer to the following:
Day 15: Are You Guilty Of Presentism?
Day 16: Does Presentism Affect The Way You View The World? and;
Day 17: The Dangers Of Presentism.
Now that it can be safely concluded that Isaiah did in fact know the difference between a circle and sphere, is the Book of Isaiah the only book that discusses these matters regarding Earth?
Consider the following verses from the Book of Job:
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? 14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. (Job 38:13-14 KJV):
Consider the word ‘ends’ in verse 13.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the top 3 entries that define the term ‘end’ are:
1) ‘Either extremity of something that has length’;
2) ‘The outside or extreme edge or physical limit; a boundary’ and;
3) ‘The point in time when an action, event, or phenomenon cases or is completed.’
A final question to ask regarding Job 38:13 is this:
Does a 2-dimensional circle or a 3-dimensional sphere have an ‘end(s)’ to it?
How about this final question…
What word in Job 38:14 potentially contradicts all of the discoveries made by:
Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galilei and Newton, during the Scientific Revolution?
That question will be answered after some rest.
Do not feel discouraged if you cannot see the significance of what the bible verses from the Books of Isaiah and Job are telling, (or not telling), you. Do not feel discouraged if you cannot see the larger significance of what these 3 bible verses may, (or may not be), showing you after reading them. Instead, understand that after continuing the process of reading these 3 bible verses, you are continuing to peel your way into the next layer of the onion, that may lead to more self discoveries that you never though existed.
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? 14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. (Job 38:13-14 KJV):
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 174: Which Came 1st, The Chicken Or The Egg?
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began: