General Discussion

jimlup

(8,008 posts)

10. Eh, kinda but not strictly correct...

Reply to Playinghardball (Original post)

Wed Aug 27, 2014, 07:37 PM

Aug 2014

If we define a "chicken" as an animal that could successfully breed with a chicken then the parent could almost certainly have breed with a "chicken".

Species are defined as separate if they can not interbreed with each other. This process takes many generations so eventually, over many generations, the direct ancestors of chickens would not be able to breed with "chickens".

Sorry to be a stickler here. Actually, I would have expected deGrasse-Tyson to know this. Maybe 'cause he's an astronomer and never had a biology teacher as a colleague (I'm a physics teacher) I'll forgive him.

There is no exact dividing line, which is the point of the parable.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

53 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Neil deGrasse Tyson has settled it once and for all .....Which came first the Chicken or the Egg? [View all] Playinghardball Aug 2014 OP

Love it! Evolution!!!!! nt valerief Aug 2014 #1

A better answer is, "how do you define 'chicken'?" Scootaloo Aug 2014 #2

Order Galliformes Xipe Totec Aug 2014 #9

see Jimlup's post downthread Scootaloo Aug 2014 #15

Chicken in Spanish is Gallina; Gallinacea, Gallus. Get it? nt Xipe Totec Aug 2014 #18

whoah BrotherIvan Aug 2014 #29

Yeah, biology is amazingly fun like that! Scootaloo Aug 2014 #31

I haven't read much on biology in a while BrotherIvan Aug 2014 #37

I'm wondering about the story I read the other day rickyhall Aug 2014 #41

And (and communal insects in general) are... weird Scootaloo Aug 2014 #42

Wow! That thar is one purdy rooster. hedda_foil Aug 2014 #24

K & R !!! WillyT Aug 2014 #3

Yeah, didn't we work out that answer before we were ten? muriel_volestrangler Aug 2014 #4

Blasphemer!! progressoid Aug 2014 #22

Only a chicken can lay a chicken egg, though. KittyWampus Aug 2014 #5

That's precisely wrong. Igel Aug 2014 #26

Sounds like Omlettulate Conception... grahamhgreen Aug 2014 #52

That doesn't seem right. Chathamization Aug 2014 #53

K&R nt Tree-Hugger Aug 2014 #6

That's gross. n/t Yavin4 Aug 2014 #7

This also answers another important question: chollybocker Aug 2014 #8

What's the definition of "cross"? rhett o rick Aug 2014 #11

Eh, kinda but not strictly correct... jimlup Aug 2014 #10

I'll ask Superchicken when I see him. BlueJazz Aug 2014 #12

Looks to me like you are backing up his theory. If a chicken evolved from something rhett o rick Aug 2014 #13

Fair enough jimlup Aug 2014 #16

No he is correct MattBaggins Aug 2014 #17

No, actually... Scootaloo Aug 2014 #19

No actually MattBaggins Aug 2014 #23

I think you misunderstand Scootaloo Aug 2014 #25

So you're saying there could be several generations of "almost chicken" between chicken tclambert Aug 2014 #48

I would like to thank you DocMac Aug 2014 #49

That's not the definition of chicken or species mathematic Aug 2014 #20

The Creator must have created him/her/itself. Which implies the Creator is a time traveler. tclambert Aug 2014 #46

At the same time, there are numerous species that can interbreed. Igel Aug 2014 #30

So are the cacti ring species like california salamanders or arctic gulls? Scootaloo Aug 2014 #33

That's actually an antiquated definition of species. Jackpine Radical Aug 2014 #39

Horses, donkeys, mules. Each has a different number of chromosomes. tclambert Aug 2014 #47

Ask the same question to a Zen Master and he might say, rhett o rick Aug 2014 #14

Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Maedhros Aug 2014 #21

Yep Aerows Aug 2014 #27

I drew that conclusion a long time ago Martin Eden Aug 2014 #28

Egg = breakfast; chicken = dinner Capt. Obvious Aug 2014 #32

As a chef, i'm apalled Scootaloo Aug 2014 #34

Hey, I'm Portuguese Capt. Obvious Aug 2014 #35

Well, good! Eggs are the best part of the chicken! Scootaloo Aug 2014 #36

exactly a2liberal Aug 2014 #38

If life begins at conception, why did God feel... Purrfessor Aug 2014 #40

I came to that conclusion 20 years ago Man from Pickens Aug 2014 #43

Welcome to DU underpants Aug 2014 #45

Been saying that for years underpants Aug 2014 #44

I always thought it was the rooster. Jamastiene Aug 2014 #50

I would tweak it qazplm Aug 2014 #51