"Good morning, everyone! Teachers, students, friends! The annual Kyoto University Knowledge Competition is now officially underway! Please welcome Principal Wu Yue to deliver her opening remarks!" Under the host's warm introduction, the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause. In a well-dressed suit, Principal Wu stepped onto the stage and delivered a vibrant and inspiring speech. After her address, she announced an exciting news: "Kyoto University will present a special reward to the student who secures first place! The specific details of this reward will be revealed at a later time!" The beautiful host smiled so widely that her eyes looked like two crescent moons. Following the official announcement, the expert members of the evaluation committee took their positions, ready to assess and review the students' intellectual presentations. News media representatives from all over also demonstrated great enthusiasm, eager to cover the event. "Question one! Please, friends, answer—was the chicken or the egg first?" The beautiful host held the microphone and addressed everyone in the audience with her lively voice. Many people raised their hands. The first male contestant to ring the answer bell quickly stood up and said, "It was the egg first!" Immediately, another man stood up and said, "It was the chicken first!" At the same time, a woman stood up and said, "The chicken lays the egg, and the egg hatches the chicken—this is hard to settle!" The host signaled to the eight judges, who smiled and turned to the audience and said, "Who can explain their reasoning? I'll give that person an extra ten points!" The atmosphere instantly became lively. Many people stood up, offering explanations based on evolution, mutation, and the emergence of new species, yet none of them could clearly articulate their points. Highlight and Zhang Yuping sat close to each other. Zhang Yuping thought deeply and turned to Highlight and said, "Husband! How can a university knowledge competition come up with such a meaningless question?" Highlight gently squeezed Zhang Yuping’s adorable nose and smiled, saying, “Honey! What do you know? This is called debate! After graduation, you still have to write a thesis and defend it!” “Anybody else willing to share their thoughts?” the beautiful host made the final appeal, despite the panel members all shaking their heads. The room fell silent. “Let me tell you a story,” Highlight stepped forward, confidently walking to the stage and addressing the microphone. “Which came first—the chicken or the egg? This is an ancient and enduring question. There’s a folk tale that tells of Zhuge Liang’s three setbacks of Zhou Yu. When Zhou Yu posed this riddle to Zhuge Liang, he asked: Which came first—the chicken or the egg? Zhuge Liang replied: The chicken. Zhou Yu coldly countered: Without chickens, how could there be eggs? Zhuge Liang then asked: If the very first egg was a fertilized one, then where did the chicken come from? Zhou Yu was left speechless, his anger rising and his blood flowing from within, beginning to cough up large amounts of blood. This folk tale is forced and full of inconsistencies, offering no substantive help in resolving the "egg dilemma." Zhou Yu's questioning is indeed puzzling. As for Zhuge Liang's counter-questions, they are truly elaborate and persuasive. Yet, through this folk tale, one can sense how profoundly and universally the "egg controversy" has resonated—how it shines with timeless clarity. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? The "chicken-first" camp argues that eggs are produced by chickens, thus chicken came first. The "egg-first" camp maintains that chickens hatch from eggs, therefore the egg predates the chicken. This presents a logical quandary: while eggs are indeed laid by chickens, how can chickens be said not to have originated from eggs? Truly, the chicken claims its case is sound, and the egg asserts its own validity—both parties are trapped in a circular loop. It's as if running in a circle, unable to determine who leads and who follows. Which came first—the chicken or the egg? Though many great masters and sages have failed to answer this timeless question, I can. "Because I'm far more capable than they are..." The eloquent, flowing speech from Gao Liang caused the panel judges to widen their eyes, and the entire hall fell into a profound silence—so quiet that the sound of a needle dropping could be heard. "Great! Great!" It took the eight judges half a minute before they spontaneously clapped their hands. Zhang Yeping, seated in the audience, was delighted by her husband's insightful presentation. She never realized before how excellent her husband was at defending his arguments—how could she have missed it all these years? Gao Liang continued his fluent delivery: "I'm a genuine skeptic. When it comes to this 'egg debate,' the first thing that comes to mind is a joke. Here it is: A driver is interviewed for a six-level driving certification. The interviewer asks: 'Suppose there's a person and a cat ahead of you—should you swerve to hit the person or the cat?' The driver immediately replies: 'Of course, I'll hit the cat!' The interviewer corrects: 'Wrong. You should immediately brake!' Immediately brake!" This is indeed the correct answer! The examiner set the driver a mental trap! The key lies in breaking free from that trap—only then can one have broad choices. Indeed, as the saying goes: "A new village emerges in the midst of winding hills and blooming flowers!" The "Chicken or Egg" dilemma is no exception. While the exact origin of this question is difficult to trace, it is certain that it was first posed during a time when science was still in its infancy. Therefore, the very first and most essential step should not be how to answer the question, but rather to question the scientific validity of the question itself. Evolution teaches us that all living organisms are continuously evolving and changing. So what exactly defines a "chicken" or an "egg"? How can we define the timing of a chicken or an egg? Which came first—the chicken or the egg? And precisely, which year's chicken or egg are we referring to? Clearly, the very subject of the question is inherently vague and ambiguous! From a mathematical standpoint, the question can only be discussed as follows: Was the chicken or the egg first in 2005? In 2004? In 2003? And so on, all the way back to the first year! Moreover, the answer for each year does not have to be the same. This means that the question "Was the chicken or the egg first?" will yield different answers depending on the year of discussion! Of course, the question primarily focuses on the first year, yet the very question lacks the most basic biological common sense. The person who first raised this question lacks fundamental biological knowledge—within this question, the concepts of "chicken" and "egg" are static, not dynamic. The chickens and eggs referred to here are clearly those of the person's own era, not the biological entities that we understand today. The second issue in this "chicken-and-egg" debate is that chickens are egg-laying animals, meaning chickens and eggs are the same biological entity, not two distinct ones. Therefore, discussing which came first—chicken or egg—makes no sense under this premise.