The chicken-or-egg paradox was first proposed by ancient Greek philosophers when describing the problem of determining cause and effect.
Today, a team of physicists from the University of Queensland and the Neel Institute have shown that both the chicken and the egg could be the first.
Still not clear? The answer lies in quantum physics. Let the experts explain.
Dr. Jacqui Romero stated that in quantum physics, cause and effect are not always as obvious as one event causing another.
“The weird thing about quantum physics is that things can happen in no particular order,” said Dr. Romero. 'Take your daily commuting to work as an example if you need to use two modes of transportation, such as bus and train.
'Usually you go by bus, then by train or vice versa. In our experiment, both of these events can happen first.“This is called 'indefinite causal order' and it is not something that we can observe in our daily life.”
To observe this effect in the laboratory, the researchers used a setup called a photonic quantum switch.
Dr. Fabio Costa said that with this device the order of events – transformations in the shape of light – depends on polarization.
“By measuring the polarization of photons at the output of the quantum switch, we were able to show that the order of transformations in the shape of the light is not established,” he said.
“This is only the first proof of principle, but on a broader scale, an undefined causal order may have real-world applications, such as making computers more efficient or improving communication.”
This research is based on physics, unlike others that state that the chicken should come first.
In 2014, British scientists used a supercomputer to look at details in a chicken's eggshell and they were able to determine the vital role of the protein used to initiate egg formation.
This protein is only made inside – you guessed it – chicken.
Either way, the chicken didn't really appear like a chicken.
The very first chick would be the result of a genetic mutation in the zygote, produced by two 'practically chickens'. In amniotic eggs about 340 million years ago, and the first chickens appeared about 58 thousand years ago, so many believe that the best answer would be – the first was the egg.
Sources: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/09/05/physicists-solve-age-old-conundrum-chicken-or-egg.html
